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EDITOR IN CHIEF & OWNER
Iana Velez
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Veronica Beltran
ART DIRECTOR
Sami Lea Lipman
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Renee Choi
FEATURES EDITOR
Ko Im
MUSIC EDITOR
Tawny Lara
ADVERTISING & SALES
Ethel Kambourian
Veronica Beltran
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES
ethel@nyyogalife.com
MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS
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FEATURES
Want to feature your business, event, or contributing
content, contact: ianavelez@nyyogalifemag.com
FOLLOW US ONLINE
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NATIONAL SALES
Juli Rathke
NATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Contact national office for affililate YOGA + Life™ National Brand
juli@yogalifemagazines.com 815.414.YOGA (9642)
2017 Yoga + Life Magazines, NY YOGA + LIFE. All rights reserved. No portion may be
duplicated, in whole or in part, without the written consent of publisher. Every effort has
been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication. The
publishers assume no responsibility for accuracy of information or omissions from
the material provided. Company cannot be held liable for the quality or performance
of goods and services rendered by the advertisers published in this magazine. The exercise instructions and advice presented in this magazine are designed for people who are
in good health and are not intended to substitute for medical counseling. The creators,
producers, participants, and distributors of NY YOGA + LIFE MAGAZINE disclaim any
liability for loss or injury in connection with the exercises shown or the instruction and
advice expressed herein.

80. SHARON SALZBERG’S INSPIRATIONS
Who, what and where inspiration is found...

85. A NEW KIND OF YOGA FESTIVAL

SoulFest NYC is coming this May!

85

86. TEAM FUN

Behind the scenes fun with the NYYLM team

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

5

profiles / Team

LETTER FROM THE
EDITOR

IANA VELEZ AND RUSSELL SIMMONS
PHOTO: VISIONARY ORGANICS

CREATE

NOT FOR THE MONEY. NOT FOR THE FAME. NOT FOR THE
RECOGNITION. BUT FOR THE PURE JOY OF CREATING
SOMETHING AND SHARING IT.
― ERNEST BARBARIC

What does it mean to create? A “creator” to me is a person who is
motivated by intuition and love to make something that is a direct expression of their soul. The process of creating is a conversation from
and with the self, to the universe.
Money, reason, and vulnerability have no place in a creator’s world.
It is not that they are not blind or immune to these things, but they
are not seen as obstacles–they are merely steps in the process. This
doesn’t mean it is always an easy path for creators, but it is a path
nonetheless that they cannot stop themselves from following.

Sometimes these people are called artists, but for me that is too small a word. Creators create everything, communities, life styles, philosophies, even magazines.
The theme of this issue is appropriately CREATE, it is the product of INSPIRATION ( the theme of our first issue) and DESIRE (the theme of our
second issue). It is the peak in the trifecta of life. I believe we are all creators...what are creating with your very precious life?

Iana Velez
Editor in Chief & Owner NY YOGA + LIFE Magazine

6

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

ABOUT THE
COVER
PHOTO: ROBERT STURMAN

PHOTOGRAPHER
ROBERT STURMAN: A dedicated yoga practitioner and photographer, Robert Sturman has
increasingly focused on capturing the timeless
grace and embodied mindfulness of asana in
his work. His portraits, whether set in the lively
streets of Manhattan, the expansive beaches
and canyons of Malibu, the timeless elegance
of Walden’s New England, or the bleakness of
Marin County’s San Quentin Prison, remind us
that there is beauty everywhere. In Sturman’s
own words, “I often think of Rumi’s words ‘I
can’t stop pointing to the beauty.’ That feels
right to me.” Sturman’s honors include Official
Artist of the 47th Annual Grammy Awards,
2010 FIFA World Cup Artist Representing
America, and Official Artist 2007 United States
Olympics. In 2012 and 2013, Sturman was
the subject of two separate New York Times
articles celebrating his photographs of yoga
from around the world.
www.robertsturmanstudio.com

MODEL
RUSSELL SIMMONS: A yogi, entrepreneur,
producer and author. The Chairman and CEO
of Rush Communications, he cofounded the
hip-hop music label Def Jam Recordings and
created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm,
Argyleculture. His yoga studio Tantris is now
open in L.A.
www.russellsimmons.com

Nothing is more rewarding than
introducing children to the world of yoga!
Learn over 500 yoga poses, partner poses,
group poses, yoga games and mindful activities,
breathing exercises, relaxation and visualization
techniques, classroom management skills and more
for sharing yoga with toddlers through teenagers!
Also check out our Teen Yoga Teacher Training
Intensive for doing deeper work with the population
that needs yoga most...teens!
YA approved through Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Yoga Teacher Training Collaborative.

Thank you to the businesses below who
support our publication. Their support keeps
us free to the community, please support
them as well. Swing by, thank them, and pick
up your complimentary copy of our spring
2017 issue! Copies are also available on our
website: www.nyyogalifemag.com

Nueva Alma opened its doors in 2012 with the vision of creating a place that was safe and welcoming to all who entered its
doors. The intimate studio is sure to give you a special guided
journey within. Nueva Alma aims to foster a sense of community both on and off the mat. Come to a studio oasis where you
can escape from the worries of the world outside. The sanctuary atmosphere is set with burning sage and candles and smiling people who greet you from the moment you walk in.
www.nuevaalma.com

YOGA NANDA
Yoga Nanda began as an idea: home. Jules Boutelle founded
Yoga Nanda in 2011 as a place for students to grow, flourish,
and change. As the first stand-alone yoga studio in Garden
City, Yoga Nanda has been home to over 40 styles of yoga,
world-caliber instructors from all over the world, and an amazing community of students. Jules passed the studio on to Cara
Stone in 2013, and since then, the vision for what Yoga Nanda
can be has only grown stronger.

OM SWEET OM
Om sweet om yoga offers the benefits of yoga to men and
women of all ages and levels of experience in a non-competitive, supportive, down to earth manner. Specialized offerings
are available for pre/post-natal moms, mom and baby, kids,
teens, seniors and those with special needs. Voted “Best Yoga
Studio” by Long Island Press in 2011!
www.omsweetomyoga.com

YOGASHAKTI YOGA CENTER
Yogashakti Yoga Center, established worldwide by H.H. Ma
Yoga Shakti Saraswati, is a non-profit organization, Ma Yoga
Shakti International Mission, that offers the teachings of yoga,
meditation, and spirituality to all of those seeking guidance.
Servicing the surrounding community since 1980, Yogashakti
Yoga Center is the largest and oldest of it’s kind in Queens,
featuring two spacious studios and a staff of experienced,
dedicated teachers.
www.yogashakti.yoga

www.yoga-nanda.com

KARMA KIDS YOGA
At the Karma Kids Yoga studio, children are encouraged to
“play” yoga and experience how their breath and body move
together in a fun-filled way! The Karma Kids Yoga philosophy of
teaching yoga to children provides kids with a variety of yoga
tools that they can take away from yoga class and use throughout their lives. Through yoga poses, games, activities, music
and stories, they promote strength, flexibility, coordination, and
body awareness. Breathing and visualization techniques teach
focus, relaxation and self-control.
www.karmakidsyoga.com

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

JOIN US
Be in our partner directory online and in print, and grow your
business with us. Studio partners receive copies of
NY YOGA + LIFE to share with their community and are
eligible for special offers with our magazine family !
Sign up today! Email: ethel@nyyogalife.com

13

CREATORS
LIST

New York is one of the most creative and diverse places on the planet.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Creatorsâ&#x20AC;? are those who are motivated by intuition and desire to bring
something into the world from their heart. Welcome to our Creators List. In this
feature, we rounded up the people we feel are having the biggest influence in
our community in different categories. Enjoy meeting our favorite creators.

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

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profiles / Locals

CREATE MINDFUL SPACE
KHAJAK KELEDJIAN // INSCAPE

We’re reimagining meditation, just like in
1993 I reimagined the concept of the specialty boutique when my brother Haro and I
founded INTERMIX. We disrupted the luxury
shopping experience by uniquely styling different designers together in one space. Similarly,
INSCAPE has infused a modern delivery of
a traditional practices. We facilitate meditation in a new way that’s more accessible - the
platform is neutral and contemporary.
We’ve creating a brand that’s forward-thinking
and relatable. What’s essential is how we
take inspiration from what’s come before and
translate it for today so that INSCAPE is innovative, immersive, balanced and connected.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE A
MINDFUL SPACE?

DESCRIBE YOUR SPACE
INSCAPE creates immersive guided meditation, relaxation and balance in an overstimulated, always-on world. We are the first
multi-platform meditation and relaxation
experience - an app and a physical studio which delivers signature content addressing
the three primary reasons people meditate:
health, performance and meaning. Our
signature content is audio-guided, bringing
the meditator through a unique flow of movement, breathing and meditation technique,
step-by-step.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN
CREATING “MINDFUL SPACES”?
Over the last ten years, as I practiced and
refined what mediation style works for me.
I’ve been creating a “mindful space” inter-

16
16

nally. What started as a bet that I could not
sit still for 15 minutes, when I was leading
a hectic lifestyle as the founder and former
CEO of INTERMIX, ended up inspiring me
to make meditation more relatable and accessible. My friends and employees started
asking how they could get started with
meditation because they saw the positive
changes I was experiencing. I realized there
is an opportunity to create an immersive,
community-driven space where people can
find balance and calm within New York City’s
urban setting.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO CREATE?
Reality inspires me. I think a lot about how
people really live in our 21st century world
and how I can reimagine an approach that’s
amplified and more relevant.

For me, a mindful space has an infinite feeling
and isn’t purely defined by a physical environment...It starts with finding an environment
that supports the habit you’re setting and
then you can work to create the mindful
space inside of yourself. Once you have that
space inside of yourself, you can be mindful
anytime, anywhere.
At our studio and within our app, we’re merging
tradition, modern thinking and of-the-moment
technology. There is a misconception that
people need to detach from technology to find
balance and create mindful environments. We
want people to understand they can control
how they interact with technology, rather than
feel they are controlled by it. The reality is
that technology is part of the evolution of our
society and it can enhance and enrich our
everyday lives if we utilize it mindfully.

INSCAPE is located at 45 W 21st St, NY, NY
10010 for more information visit:
www.inscape.life

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM
YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

CREATE FASHION
KELLY HSIUNG // MODERN YOGI

DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS
Modern Yogi is a contemporary
activewear line for yoga practitioners who value comfort and quality in their practice wear. Inspired
by the love of yoga, fashion and
luxury, we fuse our distinctive
designs with high-performance
apparel. Each piece is mindfully
designed to provide premium
comfort, function and style.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN
CREATING FASHION?
For as long as I can remember, I
loved color, design, fashion and
the arts. My favorite subject in
school was art. I recall always
carrying my pencils and little
sketchpads with me. Over the
years, my passion grew brighter
and I launched my first activewear collection in 2015.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO
CREATE?
Sketching a design, seeing it
through the production process
then witnessing the positive
change it has on someone wearing it. That is amazingly inspiring.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE
“FASHION?”
Fashion is an expression of
self. Your distinctive perception
dresses you in the morning and
declares who you are without you
having to say anything.

For more information visit:
www.modernyogiclothing.com

CREATE CHANGE

MEERA GANDHI // FOUNDER OF THE GIVING BACK FOUNDATION

DESCRIBE YOUR ORGANIZATION​
The Giving Back Foundation is a 501(C) (3)
organization founded in 2010 whose mission
has three platforms: transformative education of the girl child, to be a platform for
dialogue and debate, and to spread mindfulness and happiness.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN
CREATING “CHANGE”?
Since I was young, doing charity work and
helping others, tutoring the kids of my parents’ staff at 13 and going to Mother Teresa’s

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

Asha Dan in Mumbai.

WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION TO
CREATE?
Everything and everyone inspires me.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE “CHANGE”
AS IT RELATES TO YOUR
BUSINESS?
To me, change is the daily transformation
of each of our beneficiaries’ needs and
how we adapt to them by rearranging our
schedule and priorities.

For more information visit:
www.TheGivingBackFoundation.net

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profiles / Locals

CREATE FILM

SHAY MOTION & JEROME COFFEY // VISIONARY ORGANICS

DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS
Visionary Organics is an impact-driven media production company using digital
films to document visionaries and solutions for a more sustainable and optimal
lifestyle. Utilizing artistic cinematography and inspiring words from the universe to
tell stories of spiritual and cosmic abundance. We promote positive social change
through the power of film. Our films help transform the current paradigm into a
greener biosphere.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN FILMMAKING?
Visionary Organics has been creating documentary films for the past two years.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO CREATE?
Documenting visionaries who follow their passion and contribute their part to
push humanity forward, drive us to create these films to preserve history. We are
inspired by the beauty of humanity, and each moment is entirely unique.

For more information visit: www.visionaryorganics.com

HOW DO YOU DEFINE VISONARY FILMMAKING?
Visionary filmmaking is an art form utilizing the power of film as a tool to drive positive social impact and shift human consciousness towards abundance.

CREATE EMPOWERMENT
ELISHA SIMPSON // CROSSOVER YOGA PROJECT

DESCRIBE YOUR ORGANIZATION
The nonprofit Crossover Yoga Project (CYP) empowers
young at-risk girls to overcome trauma and move toward
positive change through yoga and art. CYP teaches girls
to learn to value themselves and their bodies. They gain
tools to manage stress, anxiety, and anger, while learning
to become more self-aware, compassionate, and resilient.

HOW LONG HAS CYP BEEN CREATING
EMPOWERED GIRLS?

This email: “My granddaughter would not go into the pool past her chest. When
she did, she would panic and get out of the pool because she was scared. After
working with Elisha at camp, she jumped into the pool and swam underwater without hesitation. I asked her how she did it, she replied, ‘I thought of Miss Elisha's
meditation and I knew I could swim!’”

HOW DO YOU DEFINE
EMPOWERMENT?
Reclaiming your own power.

Founder Elisha Simpson has been creating empowered
girls for over a decade. CYP celebrated its one year
anniversary as a nonprofit in December.

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION TO CREATE CYP?

18

For more information visit:
www.crossoveryogaproject.org

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

CREATE BEAUTY
ALINA ROYTBERG // CO-FOUNDER, FRESH

DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS
Fresh is pure beauty. We are always inspired by the past and look to
natural beauty traditions passed down through generations of different
cultures. The origins of these remedies have withstood the test of time.
We innovate and develop the science needed to further the ingredients’
efficacy without compromising their integrity. Traveling the world, we
seek out natural ingredients to incorporate into our products, introducing
new, highly innovative formulations into the market, keeping Fresh at the
forefront of the beauty industry.

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION TO CREATE FRESH?
When we started Fresh, there was a lack of options for naturally
based personal care products. Traditional brands in the department
stores offered information, but it was hard to connect emotionally to
the products. We felt, to really get excited about a product, one needs
to be more connected to the story behind the product, its raison
d’etre. History held all the answers for beauty remedies. Sustenance
ingredients became beauty remedies ingredients. All of that was really
fascinating to us and we wanted to explore it from the start.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE BEAUTY?
It’s the knowledge, the emotion and the passion a person projects.
Self-awareness. Knowing how to embrace every stage of life. Knowing
how to live in the moment. Enjoy laughter. Not afraid to love.

For more information visit: www.Fresh.com

We felt, to really get excited
about a product, one
needs to be more connected
to the story behind the product,
its raison d’etre.

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

19

profiles / Locals

CREATE ENTREPRENEUR
LAUREN PORAT // YOGASPARK

DESCRIBE THE
WORK YOU DO

WHAT IS YOUR
INSPIRATION TO CREATE?

I am the owner of YogaSpark, a
boutique studio dedicated to hot
power yoga. All of our classes are
fun, open level, challenging, 60
minutes, and set to awesome music. We currently have two locations in Tribeca and Westchester.
As the owner I hire staff, oversee
operations, live the brand, and
teach kick-ass classes!

At first, it was my personal desire
for a studio like this. Now, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the
amazing community of yogis that
graces us with their energy and spirit
every day.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU
BEEN AN ENTREPRENEUR?
YogaSpark opened in 2013, but
I started a tech business prior
to this called Urban Interns in
2008. I was a big company girl
for many years before that, at
IAC and Merrill Lynch.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE BEING
AN ENTREPRENEUR?
To be an entrepreneur is to believe
so strongly that there is a need in
the world for your product that you
cannot imagine doing anything else
with your life.

For more information visit:
www.yoga-spark.com

CREATE DIVINE
ENERGY

ADREA ROBLES

DESCRIBE YOUR LINE OF WORK
My work, whether via yoga, massage or Reiki healing, is to
remind everyone that we are all divine energy. We cannot
create it; we only create the conditions through which it
expresses itself through us. Each modality is a way of
removing blockages to the natural flow of divine energy.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN CREATING
DIVINE ENERGY?
I have been teaching and working as a healer for a decade, but I know this will be a lifetime of work.

20

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

...CONT. CREATE DIVINE ENERGY

WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO CREATE?
I’m inspired by the renewed light and aura of peace surrounding a client after a session. It’s like they’ve let the
human mask slip!

HOW DO YOU DEFINE “DIVINE ENERGY”
Divine energy is life itself. It manifests in feelings of openness, growth, and playfulness. It is the willingness to give
and receive love.

For more information visit: www.liberationny.com

CREATE COMMUNITY
INTEGRAL YOGA INSTITUTE OF NEW YORK

DESCRIBE YOUR ORGANIZATION
Integral Yoga Institute of New York is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the practice
and teachings of Integral Yoga, as taught by
Sri Swami Satchidananda. These teachings
facilitate an easeful body, a peaceful mind, a
useful life, and ultimately promote peace in
the individual and in the world.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN
CREATING COMMUNITY?

HOW DO YOU DEFINE
”COMMUNITY?”
In Sanskrit the word is sangha.
This is the belief that in coming
together and supporting one
another, we create a better world
and healthier people.

For more information visit:
www.iyiny.org

Since our founding over 50 years ago, Integral
Yoga has embraced all people, from all walks
of life, from all cultures, faiths and styles of
living and loving.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO CREATE?
The benefits of coming together are reinforced every time we experience them. The
depth of connection people find in the nurturing atmosphere of Integral Yoga.

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

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PROFILES / Locals

CREATE ART
LEANNE LEILANI ARANADOR

DESCRIBE YOUR LINE OF WORK
The Doodle Journey is a creative platform
that helps you un-edit yourself and unlock
your creativity through tools and workshops that illuminate and magnify your
inner voice.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN
CREATING ART?
I've always had an interest in art as a kid,
but it wasn't until New Years' Day 2015
when I decided to take on a 365
#adoodleaday challenge that my career as
an artist really kicked off.

Life experiences,
relationships and
hard conversations
inspire me to
create.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO CREATE?
Life experiences, relationships and hard
conversations inspire me to create.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE ART:

For more information visit: www.leannearanador.com

22

Art is a tool. It gives you an opportunity to
transform your internal negativity into external positive thoughts and actions, which
ultimately leads to transforming your world.

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

PROFILES / Local

PHOTO CREDIT: TODD MARSHARD

CREATE
SACRED FERTILITY
LAUREN HANNA

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

DESCRIBE THE WORK YOU DO

WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION TO CREATE THIS?

My mission is to share the story of my fertility triumph, and
to share my wisdom as a way to support all women who
are trying to become pregnant. I have created a holistic
yoga program that combines modern research, ancient
teachings and my own personal fertility experience.

After a long, tumultuous journey of infertility, I conceived
my daughter Jaya naturally at age 46. I am inspired to
help others find the same joyous outcome.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SACRED FERTILITY?

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN CREATING
THIS SACRED SPACE?

Sacred Fertility Yoga is a live or online program that will
bring balance, grace and ease into your life while optimizing your fertility.

It has been my passion for the past eight years. I am in
the process of writing my book, and working on my online
webinar program that launched July 2016.

For more information visit: www.sacredfertilityyoga.com

23

PROFILES / Locals

CREATE ALCHEMY
LOULOU PISCATORE, MS L.AC LMT

DESCRIBE YOUR WORK

WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO CREATE?

I use acupuncture, massage, essential oils,
plant medicine, dreamwork, lifestyle counseling and food energetics to support my
patients through healing crisis. Together we
move energy physically, emotionally and spiritually. I try to remove obstacles so they can
“become who they are.” I support their body
and soul’s innate ability to heal itself.

My patients inspire me. The work engages not
just on the physical level, but on the electromagnetic, astral and spiritual levels as well.
We go on a journey together…it’s amazing.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN
CREATING ALCHEMY?
You create “alchemy” any time you engage
with, move or change energy. I have been
doing this work for more than a decade, but I
have been studying five-element alchemical
healing this past year and it resonates deeply.

24

HOW DO YOU DEFINE ALCHEMY?
“Dying to be reborn.” Using chaos or disease
to move forward instead of backwards. Letting things shatter to put the pieces together
in a new way. Becoming who you are.

For more information visit:
www.louloulac.com

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

PHOTO CREDIT: JENNA DUFFY

CREATE QUIET IN THE CITY
JESSE ISRAEL // MEDI CLUB // THE BIG QUIET

DESCRIBE YOUR WORK

WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO CREATE?

Medi Club is a collective of thousands of young New Yorkers that come together to meditate and have conversations about the topics that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t usually have the
space to discuss. The Big Quiet is a mass meditation
series that hosts moments of quiet and culture with thousands of people in iconic landmarks like SummerStage
Central Park and the Oculus World Trade Center.

I love bringing people together and facilitating experiences that deepen human connection. This is what
makes me feel most alive and gives me the inspiration
to create.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN CREATING QUIET
IN THE CITY?
Our first Medi Club was December 2014 and our first Big
Quiet was Summer 2015.

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

HOW DO YOU DEFINE QUIET IN THE CITY?
Quiet in the city is about making time to surrender to
whatever is going on in our lives -- and rebuilding the courage to face it.

Summer is on the way and the NY YOGA + LIFE crew loves to head
out to sand and surf in Montauk! Only a few hours away from the
hustle and bustle of Manhattan, Montauk offers a great retreat from
city life. Check out our favorite places to eat, shop and yoga!

Co-founder of Def Jam Records. Promoter of Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Run D.M.C., and LL Cool J. Fashion designer. Movie and television
producer. Outspoken human rights and animal rights activist. Vegan. Meditator. Jivamukti Yogi. Yoga studio owner. Russell Simmons. Born and
raised in Hollis, Queens, the man of many accolades is vocal about how living in the city has helped him find success in both business and stillness. He credits much of his recent success to yoga, mindfulness, and a vegan diet. We got to catch up with Russell to learn how yoga changed
his life and how it helped him cultivate creativity.

In your book, Success Through Stillness, you say “Stillness is
the soil in which imagination is nourished and our ideas can
grow to incredible heights. The soil that can yield a crop — that
will sustain us for a lifetime.” Can you elaborate a bit more on
that and discuss how it relates to creativity?
As yogis, we all know that creativity is self-evident. Everything that we
create or anything that we do well, we do with a present awakened
state of mind, more or less. That’s the reason we meditate and do
yoga. In fact, everything in life is to achieve these seconds of stillness
that allow us freedom from the noise that separates us from not only
our creativity, but from all of our greatest gifts. Stillness is the purpose. The second sutra is about letting go of the noise that compromises the nervous system that separates us from god-like qualities.
When the mind is still, there is this awakened state that can only be
created in the present. We all work toward the more present seconds,
expounding on the seconds of presence.

28

What kind of changes do you notice in your body whenever
you are fully present?
I’m never fully present. There’s always noise and suffering. But this
idea we know is truthful, that there is such a thing as the fourth stage
of Samadhi or this realization of nirvana or Christ consciousness, or
whatever, you know. We know that just moving towards it promotes
happiness, more creativity, more awakened state, greater functionality, all of these things. So this idea that Jesus changed things, right
– “All these things I do you can do.” They say he was a miracle worker.
So, he said that anyone who became fully present, fully awake who
had Christ consciousness, or god consciousness or, you know, whatever – Samadhi we refer to yogis – those people are miracle workers
but have no interest in changing the world. Jesus said he did it so you
could see who you are, not for any other reason, because the world
according to him was in perfect order, and all the prophets would say
it’s in perfect order. We operate from this abundance, this reality

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

Music / Profiles

which is the presence that they all refer to. You know, this
awakened state.

What about people that have no interest in even
getting there?
They all have an interest in getting there. Again, I jokingly
refer to buying it. Like we said, “Once I get this money,
shit’s going to be perfect; once I get my shit, it’s all I
need.” And the suffering continues. So, there’s always

...everything in life is to
achieve these seconds of
stillness that allow us

FREEDOM

from the noise
that separates us from not

only our CREATIVITY, but
from all of our greatest gifts.

the next thing and the next, and needing things to be
different. But needing nothing, being fully awake, that is
the key. Needing nothing – that’s the state of yoga. That’s
the fully awakened, present state that we’re all chasing.
Seconds of it come from the new shit. Seconds of it come
from the drugs that quiet the mind or numb the mind. Or
seconds of it come from all of these success stories that,
you know, you drive a new car around the block, you take
off the seconds, oh shit. Then you forget. You’re upset
because it’s supposed to relieve the suffering. So, none of
this stuff on the outside that we are chasing that should
relieve – that we think it’s to relieve our neediness – none
of those things ease the mind or calm the mind. So, it’s
this inner battle with the noise and the neediness that we
are combating.
What are your religious beliefs?
It’s all the same. When Jesus passed, there were no
Christians. When Mohammed died there were no

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29

Music / Profiles

Muslims. When Abraham died
there were no Jews. Even when
Lord Buddha died there were no
Buddhists. The gangs started
after their passing. People came
to give context to scripture that
they were born into. Jesus was
not a Christian. Mohammed not
a Muslim. So, it’s interesting that
they formed gangs based on
these beautiful philosophies. It’s
noteworthy for all those who are
paying attention.

shit? What is wrong with you?” You’re like,
“Fuck you; none of your business.” They may
say “No, I’m just telling you, you’re going to
fuckin’ die.”
Hundreds of billions of animals are birthed into
suffering and poisoned, and then they poison
you, and it destroys the planet. None of us
are enlightened, at least that I know. We are

I think it’s fantastic that people are doing asana as much
as they are, because asana can lead to a real interest in
the other seven parts of the yogic practice. The eight limbs
of yoga are valuable and doing asana gets us somewhere.
Every yoga teacher knows something and many of them
expound on their practices. You know, we can get a certification so simply in America. It’s great to go to a 200-hour
teacher training, and it’s great if you teach somewhere,
but I encourage people to expound on their knowledge so
they can understand all the benefits of yoga. That’s why I’m
building a yoga studio, Tantris in L.A.

Why not New York?
Because I live in L.A.
That inner battle manifests in
many ways. You’re very open
about your past with drug use
and partying. I’m wondering
if you see that behavior in
people that are in the party
scene now, do you advise
them against that sort of lifestyle or do you let them learn
on their own?

But you’re from Queens, man!
I am from Queens, but I live in L.A. now. I want to have
somewhere to go that’s devotional every day, that was my
selfish motivation. Then I also get to spread yoga. I would
love to make it trendy. Not only the physical practice
because that’s already trendy. It’s so easy to take the
asana practice as a springboard because you do it every
day. Many people do it every single day and they don’t
know the eight limbs. I’m interested in the science, the
philosophy, the texts.

I say things and think they’ll
digest it; I try not to be too heavy
handed. Sometimes I say something and they can’t digest it at
the time, but it sticks in the back
of their head and then someone
says it in a compassionate way
and they digest it...So there’s a
lot of different routes through
moving someone towards
support systems. There was a
Malcolm X, and there was a Martin Luther King. There’s always
different ways to affect people.

I’m looking to get my 200 hour. Yoga and meditation have helped me through a lot and I want to

But needing nothing,

being FULLY

that is the key. Needing

Some people can easily get
turned off by extremists.
Some just don’t care about
making a change at all. How
do you approach that with
compassion?

moving towards this state because we know
it exists and because we know we are happy
as we take the path on – whichever one – that
moves us towards this more conscious state.

The angry ones have some
validity. The compassionate one
is probably happier and less
judgmental, but the angry one
can be effective too. If someone
asks you, “Why do you eat that

You’re so passionate about traditional
yoga and the traditional yogic values.
How do you feel about the westernization and common cultural appropriation
of yoga?

30

AWAKE,

nothing – that’s the state of

YOGA. That’s the fully

awakened, present state that
we’re ALL

CHASING

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

give back in that way. Maybe I’ll teach at prisons or
women’s shelter. Yoga shouldn’t be a luxury. Yoga
should be easily accessible.
I agree with you. You know, people would always write me
when they wanted the scholarship that it would help them
with their relationship with the world. The reason I wanted
people to get the scholarship was so they could help the

The noise in the mind is
the cause of all suffering.

Our SEPARATION from
the present moment. Fully

AWAKENED, present
people never suffer
for anything

world, not help their relationship with the world only, but
that their motivation was that they would teach in communities where people couldn’t afford it, or in places where
people needed it the most.

You’ve been quoted comparing creativity to soil.
How is soil similar to the mind when it comes to
cultivating creativity?
The noise in the mind is the cause of all suffering. Our
separation from the present moment. Fully awakened,
present people never suffer for anything. They are
awakened and the experience is beautiful. Everything.
A corpse. A sunset. Anything. So we are always working
towards more presence. That’s our goal. We can buy it, we
can take drugs to get it, we can do all kinds of stuff, but
you know, the truth is the only way to get it is through the
practices that are given to us through scripture.

Visit Russell’s yoga studio in L.A. www.tantris.com

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31

KRISHNA
DAS

BY: IANA VELEZ
PHOTOS: PAYAL KUMAR

If the kirtan world had rockstars, it would Krishna Das. Originally from Long Island KD, as he is affectionately known, spent the late 60s travelling and living in India where he met his guru Neem Karoli Baba, known to most as Maharaj-ji. KD later returned to the U.S., and ultimately
found peace through chanting after the death of his guru, and years of drug use. What started as a small group chanting at Jivamukti in NYC
over twenty years ago, has turned into sold out tours all over the world and a Grammy nominated album. Editor in Chief of NY YOGA + LIFE had
the opportunity to spend time with KD to chat about kirtan, joy, and saving your own ass...

I have to be honest, kirtan and chanting were things I used to dread. I’d be in a yoga class and the teacher would pull out the
harmonium and in my head I’m screaming “no, no, not the chanting.”
I still say that when most teachers pull out the harmonium (laughing)
(laughing) Then I saw One Track Heart ( Documentary about KD’s work and life) and it pretty much blew my mind. What we want
to share with our community is that there are so many paths you can take. Yoga may not be for you, meditation might seem impossible...but here is another option: kirtan and chanting. For someone new to all this, how would you describe kirtan?
Lets just say that most of our pain and suffering, comes from our thoughts. It comes from the way our minds function, and the way they obsessively follow every thought that comes. And also believing every thought that comes. So the idea of yoga or union with your true self, would
mean to find a way to let go of those thoughts that pull us out of our self and into confusion.
Asana practice helps, but chanting is like asana of the heart and mind. It’s moving more directly at the root cause of unhappiness, and more
directly at the cause of happiness, of peace, and well being. They say that underneath all the nonsense that we feel and think most the time is
real happiness. Our true nature is a feeling of “OKness” which we in the West and the modern world have really lost touch with.

32

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

Music / Profiles

We use music and the repetition of these
mantras, which in India they call the names
of god. But we don’t have to call them that.
For instance the word “God” bothers me, I’m
not comfortable with that. It is a very western
tinged word and it invokes a feeling of some
big guy up in the sky throwing thunderbolts
at you. That’s not my idea of fun. So when
I went to India and met real godly people,
people who knew what this was all about, the
feeling was of a total being at home and total
happiness. And none of that good and evil
judgemental stuff, which is pretty much where
we spend most of our time in our thoughts
and emotions.

CHANTING

...

IS LIKE ASANA OF THE

HEART AND MIND

that’s not included in the five senses and the
thoughts. That’s the place you are touching
when you do asana. It brings you out of your
thought process and paying attention to the
body, and the body has many things going
on that are revealed to us as our minds get
quieter, and we pay deeper attention.
Imagine taking that attention, and turning it
directly to the source of all being. The source
of life, the source of goodness and truth,
peace and joy and happiness and real satisfaction—which is who we are. So what we
chant is essentially the names of that place
inside of us that is all those things. That is
peace. That is happiness. That is a sense of
OKness. It’s just that we’ve fucked it up so
badly…(laughs)
I love one of the things I’ve heard you
say before is you chant to “save your
miserable ass” (laughs) I love that.
How’s that coming along? Is it still
in process?
Definitely still in process, and my ass has
gotten much wider in a good way! (laugh-

ing) In a way that it includes a lot of people,
it includes the rest of the world. So when I
chant, of course I get results from that in the
immediate moment, but I also recognize that
there are other people involved that are also
getting something. I'm not giving it to them,
we are creating an atmosphere where each
person can move more deeply into themselves. Through the chanting, through the
music, and the chanting of these very special
sounds. These sounds have come from that
place within us, and so they have the power
to bring us back to that place. That place is
what we are all looking for.
What we do is develop the ability to let go
of thoughts, and come more deeply into
ourselves while we are chanting, while we
are doing that practice. And just that bit of
practice loosens up the grip of all that stuff,
little by little over time. Because we are so
programmed on so many levels to look outside of ourselves for what’s really within us,
it’s a very slow and deep process of turning
towards ourselves.

Why is that?
We are programmed that way. It’s the nature
of this world. In this world everything is either
too little or too much. And why is that? It’s
because we are not dealing with real happiness, we are dealing with pleasure and
pain. And the nature of pleasure and pain is
that it’s always changing, it’s always in flux.
What is pleasurable and brings some kind
of happiness at first, morphs into something
else and then it brings unhappiness. What’s
painful, very often morphs into something
else. The nature of the world of the mind and
the senses, or the thoughts and the senses,
is that it’s always changing and impermanent.
Since that is all we have been taught growing up in western culture, it’s very hard to
recognize that there might be another way
to live. There might be another quality to life

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Music / Profiles

...do what you can to realize what
you are really longing for. The

chanting

is not only an expression of that

longing,

it is also the fulfillment of that
longing at the same time

Watching you chant, it seems as if energy is travelling through you, not from
you, so you never seem drained by what
you are doing.
When I am singing, I am not singing to the
people in the room. I'm doing my practice. I
can't even open my eyes, I never see people
dancing and jumping up and down. My eyes
just close and I forget about opening them
because I am doing my practice. It’s not
about the people in the room, it’s about me
and that presence. So I don’t feel anyone is
taking anything from me, I’m just entering
into that presence and of course that brings a
lot of deep feelings.
I’m not trying to entertain anybody, I’m not
trying to give anyone experiences or anything. I sing, then I go home. That’s why it’s
so powerful I think, because I’m not trying to
manipulate people. If I was trying to manipulate people, everybody would feel that
somewhere. And some people want to be
manipulated, they are the people that come

34

up and follow me around, because they enjoy
being manipulated.
This is given freely, and openly, you’re free to
come, you’re free to go. Because it’s who you
are, it’s inside of you. There’s nothing anyone
can give you, except every once in awhile a
great saint can give you a little glimpse of
who you are. To encourage you to keep moving down the path to yourself.
Do you think there are any more saints
out there?
If there weren’t saints, we wouldn’t be here.
There are always saints, whether they show
themselves to us or not...there’s a reason that
they do or don’t. They are always here, they
are the ones running the show. Everything
happens for a reason and they are doing what
has to be done. You can’t go looking for a
saint, you’ll never find a saint. Saints find you.
You don’t do it, all you do is try to get in touch
with that longing that you have in your heart.

Trust it, and follow it, and do what you can
to realize what you are really longing for. The
chanting is not only an expression of that
longing, it is also the fulfillment of that longing at the same time.
The theme of this issue is CREATE. What
does that word mean to you?
All creation comes from some intention. A
lot of people talk about creating happiness
in their lives, people say “we create our own
happiness and unhappiness.” Not really...
our lives unfold in time, in front of our eyes,
according to our karmas. Our own actions
in the past that have been created by our
own actions. Every action creates a karma
and every karma creates an action so to
speak. Our job, our duty, our responsibility to
ourselves, if we want to “create happiness”
is to deal with what arises in our lives, what
shows up in our lives, in the best possible
way that we can. That means different things
to different people at different times. When I
say “best” that is a qualitative statement, it

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

could mean a different thing to me tomorrow
than it does today and that’s the beauty of
it all. But the idea is that everything that is
happening in our lives has been created by
our own karmas.
Like a wave that is coming in from far off in
the ocean and crashing over us on the shore.
All we see is the wave, we don’t see how long
it took to get there, what originally created
that motion in the ocean that created that
wave. If we recognize that happiness lies
beneath the waves, so to speak, we don’t
want to create more waves by pushing back
on that wave. We want to allow that wave to
come over us, pass through us, and be gone.
But if we react, we create more karmas in
that moment, based on that wave. The idea
of creation is very interesting.

You do have to

do the work,

you have to sit down and do the
practices. That is what creates the
space around the thoughts and

emotions

and reactions that we have.
Krishna Das will release a new studio
recording fall 2017. Forty day pre-sale of
album with one time bonus items starts
April 2017. Visit www.krishnadas.com
for details.

So when we talk about creation we have to
recognize as human beings in the situation
that we are in, we are reacting all the time to
stimuli inner and outer. If we want to create

IN

NAPA VALLEY

happiness, we have to create the intention to
find that place within us that is deeper than
the reactions. Out of that place, an incredible
space of love and compassion and kindness
will arise. It’s not like we are going to just
push a button and create something, not on a
spiritual path...it’s very different. You do have
to do the work, you have to sit down and do
the practices. That is what creates the space
around the thoughts and emotions and reactions that we have. To create or invoke the life
we want, we have to have the intention, the
will and the strength to participate in certain
practices that will train us not to react, and
not to keep recreating the storylines we tell
ourselves.

riter’s block can happen to any artist, writer, or person whose vision
is to surrender into a creative endeavor. Suddenly the writer is unable to write, the artist is overwhelmed by the canvas. Completely
stunted, there is no ability to generate movement through the
creative process. Most creative types recognize the personal hell of being blocked
the minute it is mentioned. After enduring years of this roller coaster, I’ve accumulated a few tools that can reinitiate that creative spark.
DISTRACTIONS:
Daily distractions all try to steal my attention from my “should” list. For example,
when I know I have to finish arranging a song or completing a project, I turn off ALL
distracting websites (you know the ones), put my phone in airplane mode and if internet is not needed for the project, turn off the Wi-Fi completely. In my case, most
or all my music production/studio work is on the computer and my distractions
are a few keystrokes away. I let myself have a “treat” when I finish my task - that’s
when I let myself check email or check in with whatever social media outlet I need
to connect with.
EXERCISE:
Oxygen counts. A big part of my creative process is invigorated by doing breathwork, running and being dedicated to an exercise practice. When I know I’ll be
facing a new deadline for developing music or writing projects, I either work out, do
a power vinyasa yoga session and add in some breath work like kundalini, breath
of fire, simple pranayama or mindful breath meditation to help turn up the creative
juices even more. Exercise and yoga literally shakes things up and brings the reservoir of my creativity bank to the surface.
FOOD:
I consider myself a flexitarian when it comes to my diet but during the creative
process I put myself on a vegan or raw diet, because heavier foods block the flow
of energy and prana in my system and make me sluggish. The vegan/raw diet allows me to feel super light and natural energy flows easier. The joy I feel on natural
clean foods permeates my creative work, and I have come to believe that it infuses
my work with a natural spiritual energy as an added dimension.

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YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

MEDITATION:
I can do all of the above, but let’s face it - we can’t force creativity.
So I practice meditation, prayer and asking the universe/God/higher
power for help is a good place to start. I offer my intention, and ask
to be open for the ideas to flow in. This approach also allows the conscious mind/monkey mind to rest and relax, often allowing my best
ideas to come to me.
These ingredients are always in the mix when I am arranging tracks as
a DJ or creating original music. I also surround myself with quality music by other musicians, which is always an inspiration, and interface
with anything or anyone that will motivate my inner strength and bank
of magic. The joy and aliveness factor that gets strengthened by this
streamlined approach provides me with the fuel that runs everything.
So regardless of who you are or what kind of creative project you are
working on, you can enjoy these touchstones to break through your inevitable blocks. Experiment with them and may you surround yourself
with whatever and whomever inspires the best in you.

6th ANNUAL

YOGA SERVICE
CONFERENCE
Supporting Practice
& Building Community
May 19-21, 2017
Register at eOmega.org/ysc or call 800.944.1001.
Tiered pricing options are available.

Free download listen to DJ Taz Rashid’s new music for free by texting
LOVEYOGA to 44222. Stay in touch at www.djtazrashid.com

Join leaders in the field to gain a renewed sense
of purpose and learn concrete tools to integrate
directly into the work you do in the world.

LINDA GRAHAM | GAIL PARKER
SAT BIR SINGH KHALSA | LESLIE BOOKER
TEO DRAKE | AND MORE
Start the conversation early with one of three
preconference intensives on May 19: Tools for Social
Change, The Art of Compassionate Facilitation,
or A Retreat Day for Service Providers.
Presented by

The Yoga Service Council is dedicated to maximizing the
effectiveness, sustainability, and impact of individuals and
organizations working to make yoga and mindfulness practices
equally accessible to all. Visit us at yogaservicecouncil.org to
learn more about our membership benefits, yoga service best
practices book series, community resource papers, webinars,
and more.

When it comes to curating a yoga class, choosing the right music is just
as important as choosing the asanas. Music can set the tone for the class
and can even make that last breath in chaturanga almost bearable. We’ve
carefully selected a few killer playlists from some of New York City’s top yoga
instructors. Here’s what their classes are currently vibing to.

A church-like setting, sans church-like preaching. This
spiritual community invites all religious backgrounds to
join their services, which occasionally include mini reiki
sessions and healing hymns.
www.spiritualistchurchnyc.com

2. C.R.E.A.T.E. COMMUNITY SERIES
15 W 28th St.

Holy high-energy, batman. Twice a week Nat and
Kristin offer a community gathering of local artists,
actors and creators fully equipped with fun exercises
and guided meditations to unlock blockages and, yep,
you guessed it, become more creative.
www.thecreateseries.com

3. NEW YORK INSIGHT

28 W 27th St

This urban center for mindfulness offers weekly sits
and weekend retreats for all spiritual backgrounds.
Yes, even if yoga is your religion. The diversity of their
Sangha is as open as their front door. And their front
door is wide open in the heart of NYC. So, basically,
they’re very open.
www.nyimc.org

4. JIVAMUKTI

841 Broadway

My fave place to gain new insights into my yoga practice, and then indulge in a rainbow chakra smoothie.
Whatta party animal. The studio and café is always
buzzing with a vivacious and sweat glistening community of yogis where it feels 100% acceptable to be
that girl vibrating with excitement over an all-vegan
and organic menu.
www.jivamuktiyoga.nyc

Body Local is a friendly community of passionate health and wellness advocates. In addition
to annual events for wellness professionals and
enthusiasts, they offer weekly networking events
for members of their community.
www.bodylocal.com

7. REFLECTIONS
227 E 24th St.

This truly is a hub for conscious living and yoga.
I took my first Kundalini workshop here and
immediately felt their strong foundation of support.
Members of this community share a similar
passion for spiritual development. Whether you’re
a spiritual teacher, practitioner or dabbler, this
center will welcome you.
www.reflectionsyoga.com

8. THE OPEN CENTER
22 E 30th St.

It is here, in Midtown, you will find like-minded
individuals looking to develop their spiritual growth.
With over 30 years of creating holistically-based
educational programs, this community center is
a gem. Take a positive psychology class, join a
Shamanic healing session, or rent space to teach.
Every visit here has offered a unique experience.
www.opencenter.org

9. THREE JEWELS
61 4th Avenue

This peaceful non-profit is community driven.
Meditation, dharma and yoga classes are free, or
by donation. If you’re tight on cash, but seeking
satya – this community will serve you well.
www.threejewels.org

5. THE BHAKTI CENTER

10. 92Y
1395 Lexington Avenue

There once was a time when Hebrew School was my
source of community. Now, it’s a 6-story cultural arts
center on the Lower East Side dedicated to the Bhakti
Movement. Where else can you connect over yoga,
chanting, philosophy and seasonal khichari? L’chiam!
www.bhakticenter.org

The 92nd Street Y is a sassy cultural and community center on the Upper East Side. It’s a proudly
Jewish organization, but in recent years has expanded its recognition within the health and fitness
community. Looking for a place to socialize? You
got it. Want to bring the kids? No problem. Ready to
make new friends? You’ll love it here.
www.92y.org

25 1st Avenue

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

6. BODY LOCAL
Multiple Locations

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Music / Profiles

KIRAN

GANDHI
BY: TAWNY LARA
ILLUSTRATION BY: LEANNE LEILANI ARANADOR

K

iran Gandhi does it all. She toured the world as MIA’s drummer while pursuing an MBA from Harvard University. While running the
2015 London Marathon, she made global headlines for free bleeding (menstruating without the use of pads, tampons, or panty liners).
She’s a feminist activist who channels her passion through song lyrics and speeches. Kiran credits her accomplishments to what she
calls Atomic Living. Kiran is focused on identifying what she’s truly passionate about: drumming, feminism, friends and family, and the
music industry. When opportunities come her way that could potentially nourish one of those four pillars, Atomic Living tells her to say
“YES!” and she goes with it. This way of living allows her to be present in the moment and contributes to her creativity.

What does creativity mean to you?
Creativity is the ability to have the clarity to let your fullest self be expressed. It also means being able to shut out the surrounding influences
and really assess what we think or feel. That’s part of the reason why, as a creative, I prefer to live in a place like LA. Now I even see a lot of
New Yorkers going to places like Beacon or Hyde Park because sometimes when we are too stimulated by things around us, it’s difficult to access our inner creative spirits and inner creative thoughts. Creativity is also when you’re able to provide a new perspective that’s different than
what’s around you so you can inspire and challenge others.
How do you shut out those external influences?
For example, one day I promised to meet some people at our local farmer’s market, then I realized I really needed to write and work on music
at home. I didn’t feel the need to exchange external energy. Having the courage to accept that, without feeling obligated to say something that
didn’t feel right to me, is very important. That’s not a selfish or egotistical thing; it’s more honoring and understanding myself so that I can
actually be better to those around me. I don’t really book that many meetings. I try my best to spend time alone so that I can actually hear my
thoughts. I think that’s why people like yoga and meditation. It’s the same idea.
So many people are terrified of that alone time that you’re talking about.
They are. At a recent show, I realized I only had five minutes left, but I wanted to share something with them. In a yoga class the day before, the
instructor said “Let the blood rush to your pituitary gland, your third eye, your intuition, where you’re never wrong.” I was so obsessed with this
because we question ourselves all the time. We’re afraid of being wrong and hurting ourselves or others. But at the same time, I do believe that
those who practice meditation and yoga are so in touch with their own energetic flow that they know very clearly what they need to do, where
they need to be, and what they need to say no to.

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43

MUSIC / Profiles

You mentioned the importance of being cognizant
of how you spend your energy. How do you balance
that with what you call Atomic Living?
It’s the exact same. It’s all connected. Atomic living is
exactly what my yoga teacher said: listening to intuition.
For so long, humans, especially women, only had their
intuition. Think of motherhood. There’s no manuscript telling you what’s right or wrong. You just exist based on your
intuition. You have a feeling through your own anatomy that
your child is hungry, so you feed them from your own body.
It’s so pure. Then in the 1200s, missionaries came in
and told humans they need to listen to God. They told us
to put our faith in something external instead of internal.
This teaching shows up everywhere. We still look for
external validation through Facebook. We look for the answer by Googling it. We look for hope by praying to God.
While prayer is powerful and it helps millions of people,
I don’t think it should come at the expense of being able
to listen to our own intuition. When we say “The Future is
Female,” it means returning to that place of trusting your
own intuition.

“...I do believe that those who
practice meditation and yoga
are so in touch with their
own energetic flow that
they know very clearly
what they need to do, where
they need to be, and what
they Need to say no to.”

Absolutely. I spread this message in my lyrics. In one song, I say “Own your voice,
don’t be afraid.” In another song, I say “I own my voice, I am not afraid.” I say it
over and over again because it’s so powerful. It can be something as simple as not
telling their boss what they think because they’re afraid or something as extreme
as sexual assault and rape victims not feeling confident enough in our society to
speak up against right and wrong. A capitalist society depends on people not listening to themselves. The majority of us knows better. We know better than to idolize
someone because they have fake breasts. We know better than to value ourselves
based on how we look. We know better than to smoke or drink. But capitalism depends on us to ignore those things, to feel bad about ourselves. It’s a toxic system.
Speaking of business, I think a big miss with struggling artists is that
they don’t see themselves as entrepreneurs. Would you agree?
Artists recognize that creativity and doing something pure at heart shouldn’t
be tethered to material wealth, so they shy away from the business based on a
stereotype of capitalism. I believe that artists need to be able to receive the value
that they’re giving. We can exchange value in different ways. This is a materialistic example, but sometimes when you’re making art, you need material things. I
recently went into a store that sells beautiful sunglasses. I told them I’m making
music video and I’d love to be able to place their glasses in a shot because they’re
so cool and really on brand for what I’m doing. I let them know that there was no
money at all, but I used to work with MIA and we have a big press partner, so it
could be a good opportunity for them, too. When I teach artists about business,
I don’t teach them about greed or corruption, I teach them about how to understand the exchange of value.

If we go against the grain or that typical way of
thinking, we’re thought of as weird.
Look at the greatest leaders of our time; those are the people that listened to their gut. In the short term, they set back
challenges and exclusions and even death threats. In the
long term, they’re the ones who push our society forward.
Most people don’t think that they have the capability to be that great. We often idolize celebrities or
profound leaders from the past and think “I can’t do
that.” They’re just people, too! They’ve learned how
to ignore the haters and listen to their intuition.

44

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

When I speak about
change and social justice, I
talk about my four levers of
social change. People don’t
think that they can make
a difference for various
reasons, but actually, we
need all four of the following
to make any kind of social
change:

”Artists impact people so much more
than politicians because art caters
to people’s emotions first.”

Radical Activism - This can be protesting in the street, my free bleeding during the London Marathon, or anything that forces society to
question its norms.
Access to Education - Education is the thing that convinces us
because it caters to our brain and teaches us how to know better. It
arms us with information so that we don’t have to be afraid of something because we don’t know anything about it.
Policy Change - When the masses care about an issue, policymakers
are forced to care about an issue.

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

Innovation - This is where
the business people come
in. Whether it’s an app or a
product that can change the
problem we’re trying to fix for
the better.

How does feminism fuel
your creativity?
I think of my creativity as
the method through which
I express my beliefs on women’s equality. I believe we still live in a
world where a woman is a second class citizen. I use my creativity in
an innocuous way to inspire change. If I were to be a lawyer or politician and say the things that I believe, it would make people afraid or
repulsed by my ideas. But I say the exact same thing and express
it through art and music. Because art and music don’t exist in our
official channels, a lot more can pass through. Artists impact people
so much more than politicians because art caters to people’s emotions first.
(Continued on page 82)

45

YOGA / Profile

ASK A GURU: CARRIE OWERKO
COMPILED BY: RENEE CHOI
PHOTO: SHAHAR LION

Carrie Owerko has been teaching yoga and exploring the relationship
between body, breath and mind for several years. She holds a Senior
Intermediate Iyengar teaching credential and continues her studies with
the Iyengar family by traveling to India on a regular basis, as well as by
continuous and in-depth studies with her yoga teacher, Patricia Walden.
Curiosity, openness, and affection are of the utmost importance in her
approach to Iyengar Yoga, as is the integration of science, yoga philosophy, and the poetic imagination in the yoga practice. Most importantly,
she loves to explore the relationship of discipline and playfulness and is
a firm believer in the power of controlled folly.
How do you think yoga has changed your body over the years
(prevention-wise)? What's the biggest “a-ha” moment you
had in asana?
Yoga has helped my body become more resilient and adaptable. The
same would be true for my mind. The practice develops one's capacity
to change and adapt to a variety of circumstances. As for an a-ha! moment, there have been so many, and there still are the many little a-ha!
moments that come because the practice also develops spontaneity and
there is always something new to discover; there is no end to looking—no
end to seeing. But many years ago I realized how significant it was when
I was able to relax my eyes, tongue and jaw. Especially the jaw—letting go
in my jaw helped unlock my whole body/mind.
Have you ever taken a "break" from yoga, or do you ever take a
day off from the asana practice since you first became a student
of Iyengar?
Honestly I have never taken a "break" from the practice. I love the practice. It is like breathing for me. As long as I am breathing, I give myself the
daily nourishment of practice.
What has been the biggest change in your practice over
the years?
I have come out of the box. My practice is much more of an exploration, a
true inquiry, than it has ever been. Many things that I used to care about
have lost their pull on my psyche. I am in it because of a love of learning,
and I love how there is always something new to discover/uncover. I don't
care if it fits in a certain "box" anymore.
How do you mentally handle watching your body change?
Change is challenging and wonderful and a fact of life. I am trying to
go with it, play with it, dance with it. T.S. Eliot wrote: "There is only the
dance." So...dance!

Have more questions for Carrie? She is on twitter and instagram as
@carrieowerko, and www.carrieowerko.com.

46

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

three simple ways to
spread positive change
Creating positive change in your life and in the lives of women everywhere is
possible. Improve your life and the lives of others by making a few small changes.

1.

change your morning routine

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2.

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Once you choose your blend, use Aura Cacia’s USB Diffuser to take
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3.

give back

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time you purchase an Aura Cacia product, you help women and girls facing
difficult life situations.

Founded in 2016, Aura Cacia’s Positive Change Project works to equip women
and girls with the resources necessary to further their commitment to live
more purposeful lives.
“Everywhere in the world, women of courage and determination are trying
to better their lives in the face of seemingly overwhelming difficulties. We’re
inspired by these women, and we created the Positive Change Project to help
support them,” said Anne Rierson, Public Relations Manager for Aura Cacia.
“Each time you purchase an Aura Cacia product, you support our Positive
Change Project and the many resilient women it benefits.”
The first donation was made in 2016 to Thistle Farms, which provides
women who have suffered from abuse, drug use or prostitution with a
dedicated residential community where they can recover with peers who
share their struggle. The program also offers these women opportunities to
gain meaningful tools for a successful life through individualized therapy,
education and vocational training.

We love this collection of beautiful artisancrafted yoga gear for home and studio
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founder Ann Mordine and her family lived
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Free yoga strap for NY YOGA + LIFE
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NYYOGALIFE

Strong feet means better balance and a stronger body. With over 2,000 nerve endings in the bottom of the foot the
uniqueness of the human foot has led to our ability to stand, walk, run, jump plus more. In yoga we want to stimulate and
utilize the barefoot as a gateway between the body and ground. Many of the balance poses in yoga require the practitioner to be connected through their feet or the Pada Bandha, which in turn must be connected to the core or Mula Bandha.
Connecting Pada Bandha to Mula Bandha through the stimulation of the foot via the Naboso Yoga Mat is a powerful
technique that translates to postural control during all movements both inside and outside the yoga studio.
At Naboso Technology our concept is you must always #ownyourmovement - the movement does not own you.
We achieve this from the ground up stimulation and barefoot technology.

INSPIRATION Naboso which means barefoot in Czech was created as an extension of my passion and dedication to
advancing barefoot science in the health and fitness industries. The development of Naboso Yoga Mat came from the need for
better barefoot stimulation during barefoot practices such as yoga. I’ve built my medical career around studying the benefits
of (bare)foot stimulation, foot strengthening and foot to core sequencing for improvement movement and decreasing pain.
The human foot is a fascinating structure and as the only contact point between the body and the ground it plays a
critical role in how we maintain upright stance, perceive impact forces and navigate shifts in our center of gravity.
Daily barefoot stimulation through yoga, pilates, barefoot exercise or simply walking around the home
without shoes can have an amazing impact on central nervous system growth, muscle tone,
concentration, chronic pain plus more.

EVOLUTION The evolution of Naboso Yoga Mat came during my travels

around the world teaching professionals and consumers about the benefits of
barefoot stimulation for fitness, performance and rehab - and the realization
the lack of appropriate surfaces for barefoot training.
The majority of people don’t realize that every surface stimulates the foot and
nervous system differently. Softer surfaces (and certain yoga mats) can actually block our nervous system and proprioceptors thereby making it harder to balance and stabilize.
Surfaces with textures or tackiness stimulate unique nerve endings in our feet and hands resulting in improved postures and
muscle strength.

INNOVATION The Naboso Yoga Mat combines a unique texture with the

shape, height and distance between each stimuli being based on research. The
Naboso texture is much more subtle that people would expect. The reason for
this subtle but powerful texture is that our nervous system is very sensitive - we
don’t need to have a loud stimulus for it to be effective. I tell my patients to think
of the stimulation from the Naboso Yoga Mat as a gentle reminder to be present
in your feet throughout your entire practice.
Naboso Yoga Mat is a great travel mat as it rolls up perfectly like all other traditional yoga mats. It comes with a carrying strap which doubles as a yoga stretching strap which all together only weighs 4 pounds.

Naboso Yoga mat can be purchased at www.nabosotechnology.com
and Amazon.com – Follow us on Facebook, Instagram @nabosotechnology

yoga / Asana

YOGA
nidra
BY: MASUMI GOLDMAN
PHOTOS BY: CHAS KIMBRELL

Many people crave the calming, healing effects of
meditation but have convinced themselves that they
don’t have the patience or focus to sit still. If you happen
to fall into this camp, yoga nidra might be the perfect
practice for you. Also known as “yogic sleep,” yoga nidra
is a guided form of relaxation that doesn’t require any
knowledge of breath work or any previous meditation
experience. As you lie on your back with your eyes
closed, an instructor leads you through a number of
mental exercises and visualizations. The goal is to find
deep, restorative rest in the physical body while the
mind remains awake. Although sessions will differ from
instructor to instructor, there is often a similar structure
to each practice. You will gaze into the space between
your eyebrows and create a short, positive resolve, or
sankalpa, that reflects your heart’s true desire for your
life. You will repeat this resolve in your head to internalize

50

it. You will then begin to find deep relaxation as you
systematically bring awareness to different parts of
the body. Depending on the length of the practice, your
instructor may guide you through other relaxing exercises
and visualizations that will bring you deeper into your yoga
nidra journey.
By the end of the session, you will have traveled into a state of consciousness that hovers somewhere between waking and sleeping.
You will complete your session by repeating the sankalpa that you created at the beginning of the practice. Your sankalpa, which has been
planted deep into the subconscious mind during yoga nidra, will be fulfilled in time. It’s an experience that you don’t want to miss. Whether
you journey into space or find yourself walking on a secluded beach,
you’ll rise from your session feeling refreshed and renewed.
You can find a yoga nidra class at a local studio, or you can download
a pre-recorded session onto your phone. Here are some tips to consider for your yoga nidra session:

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

1. Practice in a dim room away from harsh sunlight. Although you will not be sleeping,
your environment should be conducive to finding rest. Shut the curtains, turn off any
bright lights, and find a peaceful place to practice.

2. Cover your body with a blanket at the start to stay comfortable. As you begin to
relax, your body temperature will drop.

3. Don’t rush to find stillness. If you lie down and realize that you need support under

your knees or your head, go ahead and get a bolster or pillow. Your instructor wants you
to be comfortable and relaxed, so take any extra time that you need.

4. If you fall asleep during your yoga nidra session, don’t feel guilty or berate yourself.
Keeping the mind awake is no easy task when you’re being guided into a blissful state.
Recognize that you’ve done something good for yourself, even if you fall asleep.

5. Try yoga nidra at different times of day to see what works best for you. See how you
feel in the morning versus the evening. If you are too tired to practice late at night, try
practicing before dinner. Play around with timing, and take note of what feels best.

Ingredients:
1 cup local raw honey

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

51

yoga / Anatomy

When it comes to wrist pain
YOU’RE ALL THUMBS...
BY: JEFF POSNER

IMPRINT PRESSURE MAPPING SYSTEM: AETREX WORLD WIDE, INC.

If you have been practicing yoga for some time
you may have encountered wrist pain along the
way. Whether a sprain, injury or just common
aches and pains, these problems are occurring throughout the yoga industry with little
guidance or explanation on how to fix them.
In order to alleviate pain and pressure in the
wrist, the weight needs to be properly distributed in the hands. The biggest problem in this
equation is human evolution.
One of the leading factors of wrist pain in yoga has to do
with our ability to use an opposable thumb. This feature
that allows us to hold, grasp and handle objects has also
hindered our perception on weight distribution in the
hand. Think of the feet. They are limited in their mobility
with toes flexing/extending and the ability to move the
feet as a whole when the ankle is in flexion and extension.
This limited action in the feet provides stability and power
to push rather than grasp and pull.
If you try to grab the floor with your toes and lift the big
toe mound (metatarsal head) you can accomplish this
same “opposable thumb” like feeling in the feet. If you
were to stand and walk in this fashion you would begin
to suffer from ankle pain similar to walking/balancing on
your hands incorrectly and suffering from wrist pain.
Holding and gripping the floor with the hands is impossible, you can only push it away like the feet. Pushing will
allow the muscles and bones to align property while not
absorbing pressure incorrectly.

GOING PRIMITIVE
In order to keep the weight out of the wrist you have to go
primitive. Mimic the feet, and pretend you don't have an
opposable thumb. Promote extension in the metacarpal
bones and only maintain small amounts of flexion in the
fingers. Lets take a look at the pressure sensor images on
the right:

52

WEIGHT IS PUSHED INTO
BASE OF HAND

WEIGHT IS EVENLY
DISTRIBUTED

On one of the images you see how the weight is being pushed into the base of
the thumb and outer edges of the hand. This is where the “opposable thumb” and
metacarpal flexion is happening. In the other image you can see how the weight is
evenly distributed throughout the finger pads, metacarpal heads and then the rest
of the hand and wrist.
Observe these images and think about how you are placing the hands on the floor
every time you enter into a plank pose. Move the shoulders forward (beyond the
wrists) to allow weight to enter the metacarpal heads and finger pads. Avoid your
evolved urge to grasp the floor, instead think primitive and push it away.
Keeping your wrists safe is a major concern in the practice and prolonged wrist
pain is a serious issue in yoga today. Learning how to adapt your practice may not
be easy at first, but your wrists will thank you in the long run.

Glossary
Flexion – the action of bending, that decreases the angle between the
bones of the limb at the joint "flexion of the fingers."
Metacarpal Heads – top of the metacarpal bones that form the intermediate part of the skeletal hand located between the fingers and the wrist.

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

Happy
knee
BY: LILLIAN DANIELS
PHOTOS BY: RENEE CHOI

tips

Our knees can be overlooked until they begin to give us pain, and that is a mistake. Frequently,
knee trouble is caused by years of specific habits that over time can have a negative effect on
our body. Knowing which habits you can add to your daily routine will contribute to allowing your
knees to be as healthy as they can be for as long as possible. If you or a loved one have ever
experienced knee trouble it is important to know how alignment, yoga and your knee are all connected. This knowledge will be key in contributing to less pain and avoiding surgery or prescription drugs. Yoga is a key tool to ensuring that your knees are healthy for the long run by:

• Offering low impact poses that improve blood circulation
• Strengthening your knees
• Contributing to a longer and healthier life overall
The following are some key yoga poses to help with overall well being with an emphasis on
working towards healthier knees.

BREATH: CHEST OPENER
Breathing is the root of yoga, and it can also be helpful in relieving stress on a day to day basis.
When you are able to effectively relieve stress, you can then focus on the tasks at hand.

This pose allows you to build balance and engage your legs
at the same time strengthen your knees and your legs,
improve balance and strengthen quads.

OPEN YOUR HIPS: BUTTERFLY POSE

Improving your balance and the strengthening your leg muscles will help ensure that
your knee has the support that it needs. When your knee has the support of other
muscles, injury is reduced and your body is in better alignment. As you are doing the
pose engage your muscles, especially your quads right above your knee and hamstrings. Both of these are key in ensuring that your knee is stable and healthy.

TREE POSE (REPEAT ON BOTH SIDES):
1. Stand straight, ankles together
2. Shift weight to left leg
3. Lift your right leg so that the bottom of your foot is either at the ankle,
calf or inside thigh
4. Do not place bottom of foot on the knee
5. Bring hands together in the front of your chest and breath
BUTTERFLY POSE

54

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

This pose helps in strengthening your hips and improving their flexibility. Work with this pose to help ensure that weight on the knee is
allocated in a manner that does not harm it. Opening the hips and
improving flexibility will also contribute to improved circulation.

Are you a yoga instructor?
Take a teaching vacation!

BUTTERFLY POSE
1. Sit on the floor with the bottom of both your feet touching
2. Clasp all fingers over your toes and extend your spine so
that your back is straight
3. Exhale, bow over your knees, relax into the pose
4. Inhale, bring knees up, extend legs forward

Doing this slowly allows to improve flexibility over time. Increasing the
movement also helps to open up the hips.

Visit TheHappyKnee.com to get your free Happy Knee gift which
includes techniques for getting rid of knee pain and preserving
your knees.

Luxury, all-inclusive resort vacations in
exchange for sharing yoga with other guests.

Create your account and book today at
FitnessProTravel.com
(800) 599-9316

In yoga, we don’t idolize one another; we’re all on the same playing field, all evolving at our own pace. Yet there’s something about seeing
how others live. It humanizes people we may not know well, or those from whom we’ve learned. We may draw inspiration from others’
routines, or add a slightly new twist to something we’re doing already. Father of five, and one of the country’s 100 most influential yoga
teachers, Raghunath Cappo has traveled the world countless times over. From the punk bands of his youth, to living as a monk in Krishna
Bhakti ashrams in India, to the busy teaching schedule that takes him all over the U.S.,Europe and twice yearly back to India. But more
than anywhere else, “inspired living” — the tag line for his wife Bridget’s Supersoul Yoga studio in Chatham, NY — is found for him at
home with family and friends, preferably outdoors — shoes optional. Raghunath and Bridget live at Supersoul Farm, the educational yoga
center they’re opening to the public this spring, with their children Sachi, Rocco, and 3-year-old Tarun Govinda. Like for all of us, no two
days are the same. Here is a day in the life at Supersoul...

5 a.m. MORNING PUJA (worship), before the kids are up
Raghunath: It’s where I get focused. We have an altar with pictures of my teachers and my personal deity, or how I perceive God, which for me
is Krishna. For me it’s a place of prayer. I extend gratitude to all the teachers in my life. That can extend to official gurus but it also goes down
to parents or my kids. It’s like my good morning gratitude. Then, Brij and I will have some reading time together before the kids get up. We find
that to be a way to recalibrate our brains before the day.

7 a.m. CHORES
Bridget: We’re trying to get the kids more regulated with chores they do everyday. One lets the chickens out and feeds them. Another empties
the dishwasher. I try to keep the mood from getting into that frenetic midday energy, but by the time we leave the house there’s always a crazy
five-minute scramble to get everyone in the car.

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. TEACHING AND CONNECTION
Raghu and Bridget both teach at Supersoul, a 15-minute drive from their home. They routinely
attend each other’s classes. Each one offering a different, often complementary, take on
bhakti-infused vinyasa. These hours, noticeably more quiet with the kids at school, also
provide valuable time for reconnection.
Bridget: There’s so much energy going into moving this thing forward. We’ve had to take
a pause and look at what it means to keep the marriage thriving and the family thriving,
in the midst of being pulled all over the place. What we’ve seen is that when we create
a little bubble around us, we realize quickly that we’re best friends. We love being
together and doing the same stuff together. We always have to go back and remember what values are motivating why we do what we do. The stuff that we’re doing is
really meaningful, but it’s not going to happen if there’s not a really strong…
Raghunath finishes the sentence for her, as if in sync…”personal commitment.”

For Raghu, the secret to staying “on,” sometimes for days at a time, lies in the outdoors.
Raghunath (walking along the creek that runs through their property): I love to teach,
I love kirtan. But coming out here or chopping wood — being outdoors is sort of the
grounding force. God is everywhere in plants and in nature. One of the healthiest things
you can do is go to the forest, take off your shoes and walk barefoot. Breathe deeply.
Before you spend so much money on a naturopath, do that. The natural world is such a
powerful healer.

5:30 p.m. MEAL TIME
Meal time begins with call-and-response prayers with the kids. They’ve recently learned
Reinhold Niebuhr’s serenity prayer and St. Francis’s prayer for peace. While eating,
Raghu and Bridget try to steer conversation back to each person’s daily gratitudes, highs
and lows.
Bridget: It’s a way we can reflect on what our experiences for the day were and notice
places where we got triggered. Tarun’s highs and lows generally involve whatever is on
his plate.
Some days, the adults — at home or elsewhere — may get together later on to discuss
their own challenges.
Bridget: Not every day but many, we’ll circle up and have maya (Sanskrit for illusion)
meetings. It’s like, “My name is Bridget and I’m in maya.” We do a share, and oftentimes
beforehand we’ll read something enlightening. We’ll text and call in a maya meeting for
wherever people are at the time. My gratitude yesterday was that I’m grateful for the
maya meetings. We face one another and state whatever is true and real in the moment,
whether it’s something to celebrate or not.

7 p.m: READING TOGETHER AND WINDING DOWN
Raghunath: With the kids I like to read the Mahabharata because I think it’s good for
them to get those archetypes and stories. They’re sort of like comic books in one sense to
a child but truthfully for some people it’s their object of meditation at their time of death.
It’s not all serious, all the time, though.
Bridget: We read A Fish Out Of Water every single night, too.

FITNESS / Profile

Kenny Santucci is a fitness professional and television personality often recognized for his time on MTV’s reality competition show,
The Challenge. His hard work and confident spirit have awarded him
opportunity and financial abundance, but in return, tested his will to
continue moving forward. A top CrossFit coach at CrossFit Solace in
New York City representing one of the best fitness brands in the world
with a positive voice through social media, Santucci’s current success
didn’t come easily to him. He experienced hard times and persevered.
We sat down to talk to him about using experience to inspire others to
be the best version of themselves.

Does your social media presence portray who you really are?
Yes. I just admitted something personal on social media that I kept
to myself for a while. For the past 7 to 8 months I was sleeping on
friend’s couches and in my car. (At time of interview.)
I wouldn’t have guessed that.
No one does. I think people need to go through struggles. I grew up in
Newark, New Jersey until I was 19. My dad had a business and lost it
all when we were younger. I experienced growing up with money and I
experienced growing up without it. It showed me a lot. I won and I lost.
I saw the good and the bad. There were times when I would come off
of a show (The Challenge) and I would have more money then I knew

CROSSFIT
creative

BY: LAUREN CAP
PHOTOS: TEDDY WOLFF

“There are other things in our
universe that support us and show
us that there is good in the world and
that things will get better. Whether
it’s someone or something. When
you start to generate good energy,
good things will happen.”
- KENNY SANTUCCI

58

“I consider most gyms a
spiritual place. It’s the modern
day church for some people.
People come here to feel good
and I help them feel good.”
what to do with it. There were other times when I was dead broke
sleeping in my car. It changes you and humbles you a lot. I think a lot
of people need to see both sides of it. The world would be a better place if people respected other people who have gone through
struggles because they have gone through it themselves.
What would you say to someone who is struggling right now?
It’s always darkest before dawn. That thought pushed me through.
There was a period in my life where I had come off of the show and
I lost within a four to five month span: my girlfriend, my job, and the
show. It was just this downward spiral. Everything I thought I had
was gone.

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

Were you depressed?

How do you use your creativity in your teaching?

I didn’t know what depression was until then. There were times when
I was like maybe I should numb the pain with alcohol or drugs, but
that’s the easy way out. Or I can stop feeling sorry for myself, grow a
set of balls, and keep trying. Keep doing other things and do what I
have to do to stay on the right path. I kept pushing. I tried this and I
failed; I tried that and I failed. You’re going to fail and fail and fail until
eventually it works out.

I like being creative. I see who my audience is so I kind of change it
up. I know what you want and know what you need and merge it all together. I’m constantly being creative with it. That blend is kind of like
the art form. That blend allows me to create. I hire great trainers that
have that artistic ability as well to manipulate a workout. We deliver
things in the workout without making people realize how much work
they are doing.
Is fitness more of a
passion for you than
being on TV?
I think just being me is
a passion for me. I love
attention. I love standing in front of a class or
standing in front of a TV.
For me it’s a combination of the two. I crave
fitness and gravitate towards it. I think it’s very
human to want to move
and want to use your
body. I don’t care about
money. I want to live
comfortably but I would
do what I do for free if I
could. There were times
when I was sleeping in
my car or sleeping on
someone’s couch and
I thought…I really don’t
need much.

And how is life for you now?
I love everything about what I am doing. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. People come to CrossFit Solace to release. I consider most
gyms a spiritual place. It’s the modern day church for some people.
People come here to feel good and I help them feel good.
What’s your advice to someone wanting a similar career?
I put myself in place to do it. I surround myself with good people. I try
to be as good as I can be at what I am doing and then it will, like a
black hole suck the good in. I’ve gotten opportunities because I have
been at the right place at the right time but also I have allowed myself
to do it. When I was on TV, I made the career change to fitness. It was
a humbling experience to be making all of this money and then to doing this. But you have to jump and take the plunge. I love this. I wanted
to be in a gym so I hung out in a gym. The formula is pretty easy if you
really want to do it.

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

“I tried this and I failed; I tried
that and I failed. You’re going
to fail and fail and fail until
eventually it works out.”

Follow Kenny online: @kennysantucci

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Bikram
101

go to the Lower East Side Girls Club. My social justice and feminist
concerns were alleviated before I even walked inside.

y primary relationship to heat is one of anxiety. At
nine years old, I passed out (but first threw up) during the annual “Field Day” outdoor dodgeball game.
Since then, I’ve maintained a cautious and respectful distance from extremely high temperatures. So
I had some reservations about taking a Bikram yoga class, known for
its intense heat and humidity. While I’ve been doing yoga regularly for
about seven years, the Bikram studio environment of 104 degrees
and 40% humidity which creates a room that feels like 121 degrees,
was intimidating as heck. With my past in mind, my number one goal
was just to not throw up. Or pass out.
I also had some political reservations about taking a Bikram class. I
am deeply disturbed by the constant accusations of sexual harassment
and even rape associated with the founder of Bikram yoga, Bikram
Choudhury. A recent interview as part of the HBO Real Sports series
where he referred to his alleged rape victims as “trash” didn’t help.
Holistically, my feelings towards Bikram yoga are decidedly negative.
With all of this in mind, I was wonderfully surprised at Bikram Yoga
Lower East Side in New York City. I was lucky enough to take a class
with studio founder Tricia Donegan, who took the inspirational and
badass stance of formally leaving the misogynistic Bikram organization. While her studio is influenced by the Bikram style, her studio is
deeply committed to the larger world and the local community. Each
month Tricia hosts a “nite sweats” class where 100% of the proceeds

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That still left the big, sweaty fear: the temperature of the studio. I
signed up for a 60 minute class with Tricia, nervous but ready as a hot
yogi baby. I arrived early and settled in, sweating profusely before the
first posture came into being.
Tricia is a dynamite instructor; she continuously raised everyone’s
confidence and energy levels with shout-outs throughout class.
Shockingly, I mostly kept up for the first 45 minutes, sweat steadily
dripping off my limbs like a shower that won’t turn off properly. But
then I began to feel it: pounding heartbeat, woozy vision. I sat down in
virasana (hero’s pose) and tried to keep it together. Tricia, the pro that
she is, noticed and encouraged me to stay upright and watch myself
breathe in the mirror, assuring me that my body can do more than I
think. And it did. While I didn’t rejoin any of the standing postures, I

yoga / Asana

The Teacher:
Tips for Bikram BeginnerS:
ALISSON marie WOOD
WATER:
Bring more water than you think you’ll need (a
bottle cozy or an insulated container is ideal). You
will need it.

HAIR:
Secure your hair up and out of your face, it will
become not only a distraction but a real problem in a
Bikram class once the sweat begins to pour out. Extra
grippy hair ties and head bands are a must.

your first bikram class
BY: TRICIA DONEGAN

T

he best way to prepare, is to come in. Don’t wait. Come with
no expectations — they will limit you. Prepare your mind to be
blown away. Your body can do so much more than your mind
thinks it can. Don’t believe anything you think — experience
what you can do. We have demystified yoga, but that doesn’t
mean it is going to be easy, it just means we can all come in the same room
at the same time.
This yoga meets you exactly where you are at: we are in a full blown relationship, we are here to support each other. Require a lot, while creating
the space to take your time. You are not a typical yogi, we are not a typical
yoga studio — we get it.

COMFORT:
Wear what you feel comfortable in. A heated class
is your chance to break out your yoga shorts and
most lightweight tops, but in my class there were
other yogis in long pants or capris too. It’s also an
opportunity to show off your favorite sports bra!
Fifteen minutes into class, I wished I had been brave
and taken my shirt off like most of the other women
practitioners. Next time.

BREATHE:

Arrive early. While it’s always nice to have a moment
of calm on your mat before your practice begins,
acclimating to the temperature of the studio is key—I
gave myself 20 minutes to sit and breathe and let my
body adjust before the class started.

wasn’t the only one taking it slow; Tricia created an atmosphere that encouraged both safety and bravery in the room.
Bottom line: I stayed conscious the whole time. And I did not
throw up!
While I might not be a Bikram convert, I appreciate the appeal: this is an extreme yoga practice, perfect for people
who want to test their physical and psychological limits. I can
also vouch for the increase in flexibility, as a warm body is a
supple body. This practice is not for the faint of heart, but it is
an empowering practice that offers compassion to everyone
who shows up on the mat ready to face their fear, whatever
it is.

62

Tips for Bikram BeginnerS:
TRICIA DONEGAN
Physically, prepare yourself to be hydrated and come in on
a digested belly. Wear something you will be comfortable
sweating in.
Prepare your soul that for whatever you ask for you will get. The
practice of yoga creates clarity in who you are and the potential
of what you can become. We practice the potential. We practice
bigger than us. You get good at whatever you practice.
Practice jumping in. I don't know if I practice what I preach, but
I definitely preach what I practice. A yoga practice will allow you
to feel, rather than convince yourself of the confidence we all
need to love our biggest fears. I need you on this planet, I need
you to practice yoga.

Thank you for your generosity giving more than you are used to, more than
you thought could, more than you were in the mood. Together we can get
each other to do more than we think we can. Not by pushing or comparing,
but by being generous, forgiving, and continuing to practice endurance and
the patience we need. We are not only enough, but just enough to change
the way we think, the way we move, the way we treat this planet. Thank you
for practicing yoga, I guarantee it will make you a kinder person.

Visit Tricia’s studio in NYC www.bikramyogales.com

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yoga / Business

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

63

yoga / Philosophy

PHOTOS
BY: LAURA KASPERZAK
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YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

Yoga

with your child
BY: SHARI VILCHEZ-BLATT
PHOTOS BY: LAURA KASPERZAK

Have you ever rolled out your mat for practice at home and within two
minutes your child is under or on top of your down dog?
It might not be the practice you planned for, but should be embraced
given the opportunity to plant some important seeds. You might not get
on the soccer field and kick the ball around with your kid or put a tutu
on and dance in their recital, but yoga is something we can do with our
kids forever! Introducing yoga at a young age is a great way to bond,
play, create, explore and live a healthy lifestyle together as a family.
Sharing the physical practice, breathing exercises, and relaxation time
is great for building connection, trust and teamwork with your child. It's
also great way for a child to discover how to self-soothe, to calm and energize. To build communication skills, eye contact, and to have fun while
strengthening their body. Your child is never too young to do yoga!

TIPS
• Be sure that your space for yoga is set up without
distractions and electronics.
• Mats can face each other or be next to each other.
• Embrace their creativity for pose invention and try it!
• Don't expect or wait for perfect poses or alignment — let
them be where they are.
• Your yoga practice is YOUR practice. It's different from
what a child is capable of and interested in. So keep
them separate.
• Laugh and have fun!

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65

yoga / Profiles

Spanish
yoga
BY: VERONICA BELTRAN AND IANA VELEZ

Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health located in Stockbridge, Massachusetts is at the forefront creating programs and partnerships with experts
in the wellness industry that empower people and communities to realize their full potential through the transformative wisdom and practice
of yoga. In 2016 Kripalu joined forces with International bilingual yoga teacher, Rina Jakubowicz to offer the first 200hr Spanish yoga teacher
training in the USA. Kripalu and Rina co-created an all Spanish manual for the groundbreaking program, complimented by mentorship months
with Rina. Upon completion of the program these teachers will become lifelong learning partners of Kripalu’s Yoga and Ayurveda Association
with access to continuing education, resources and eligibility to grant program applications. NY YOGA + LIFE sat down with former Kripalu CEO
David Lipsius and Rina to chat about this pioneering collaboration.

NYYLM: David can you tell us how this
collaboration came into fruition?
A chance meeting between Rina and I at Kripalu when she was here, sparked the inspiration of “why don’t we do this together.” We had
the platform, she had the ability to teach, and
we said “let's do this!” It turned into the most
important program of the year as far as I’m
concerned because we are finally able to reach
a group that we haven’t been able to reach.
NYYLM: Why this program now?
In 2013, Kripalu was at a crossroads where
we could continue doing what we had done
successfully as a program and retreat center,
or we can shift our focus towards having
greater social impact. Some of us who came
from different backgrounds from outside the
organization came together at this moment
in time and said “we can do better, we can
do more.” Our board responded and had the
same heart and said, “this is our obligation”

66

most importantly they said, “if not us...who?”
I think a lot of people here at Kripalu felt
like we are doing the work of yogis, and then

“...‘can we open
our hearts up
more?’ When the answer was yes...well then
you can’t go back.
When the answer was
yes, you have to.”

there was that moment a few years ago that
was “can we open our hearts up more?”
When the answer was yes...well then you

can’t go back. When the answer was yes,
you have to. It's really Rina who’s carrying
the load and having to create a methodology
that’s wholly unique, pioneering and trailblazing in an area that hasn’t been touched.
Everyday in the classroom there is this
incredibly gifted and committed yoga teacher
that is creating something brand new that will
likely have ripple effects that none of us can
predict. They will reach farther than we have
ever imagined. That is magic.
NYYLM: Rina, how exciting! Tell us how has
this experience been for you so far? Is this
training conducted fully in Spanish or is there
a “Spanglish” mix of English and Spanish?
We decided to be disciplined in making this a
fully Spanish program. Although doing it half
in English and Spanish may be tempting as
“Spanglish” suggests, we found we wanted
to stay true to the language best we could.
Because Spanish is such a rich language

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there are so many ways to say the same
thing. Words change depending on the country of origin or the background of the person,
so it was an interesting Spanish lesson along
with the yoga lessons. Because we are all
Hispanic, we have a tolerance for the differing
dialects included in the Spanish language.

NYYLM: So even within diversity, there is
another layer of diversity?
Yes! Most people who aren’t Hispanic don’t
understand how diverse we are considering we have twenty two Spanish-speaking
countries in Central and South America, not
including the U.S. Each country has its own
way of expressing themselves. We need to
have a tolerance and sensitivity to the differences in order to move past those to get to
the similarities.

for their bodies and minds. Then the rest
will come.
NYYLM: Do you use Sanskrit and translate it
to Spanish in this teacher training?
I use both Sanskrit and Spanish in my teacher training because Sanskrit is phonetic, just
like Spanish. I usually start with the Spanish
(continued on page 82)

NYYLM: Are yoga books and texts
available in Spanish?
There are books in Spanish, yet I haven’t
found any thorough books describing the process of yoga from the beginning to the end.
People often ask me, “Rina where can I get
more information? I need resources.” I mostly
get requests for philosophy books and how to
merge it with with one’s asana practice and
their lives.
My teacher Swami A. Parthasarathy, does
not have his texts translated. He has a rule
that no one can translate his book unless
they live in the ashram for at least six months
and dive deep into that one text they want to
translate. I know it would be for the greater
good to do this, but part of me wants to reach
out and say, “this Spanish yoga movement is
happening and people need to understand
this now and not wait - we need to do this.”
But I know that’s just me being impatient with
the process.
The reason I say this is because he explains the philosophy of yoga logically and
simply without adding the esoteric aspect.
He doesn’t go to extremes, which I think is
good for the Hispanic community because
they tend to be more religious. To keep the
teachings cut and dry helps maintain yoga
logical eliminating the question of “is yoga a
religion?” which we know it’s not. We need to
first help Hispanics learn that yoga is healthy

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

67

Yoga / Asana

UTTHITA TRIKONASANA:

English

BY: RINA JAKUBOWICZ
PHOTO BY: NIR LIVNI

The most stable structure in architecture is a pyramid, hence an equilateral triangle. When you are practicing your Triangle Pose, you should feel stable, strong and balanced on all sides. Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana) stretches and
opens the hips, hamstrings, shoulders, chest and back. It also strengthens the legs and the back muscles by engaging
the muscles that wrap the spine, known as your core. As a lateral pose it stretches the sides of the body (latissimus
dorsi) by creating an open twist. These movements are seldom used in our daily lives so practicing Triangle Pose helps
challenge the body and its routine-conditioning in order to provoke a positive shift within.

STEPS FROM SAMASTITHI
• Separate your legs lengthwise on the mat, about 3.5 feet apart.
• Point the front foot forward.
• Point the back foot 60 degrees from the front foot.
• Both legs remain straight.
• The torso remains on the same plane as the hips.
• Arms stretch out parallel to the floor.
• Shift the hips toward the back of your mat.
• Keeping your arms straight, lean the torso sideways so that the front arm
rests on the front leg.
• Maintain the torso on the same plane as the legs, as if you were standing in a
narrow space, between two walls.
• While the front arm is on the front leg, the back arm lifts up towards the
ceiling creating a straight vertical line with both your arms.
• The shoulders draw back and down away from the ears.
• The ribs draw in. The core is engaged.
• Gaze up towards the thumb of the top hand.
• Take 5 deep breaths.

“When you cannot be protected, this mantra shall protect you. When things stop, and won’t move,
this makes them move in your direction.”
– YOGI BHAJAN

There are times when we may feel fearful, saddened,
uncertain, vulnerable and out of sorts. This sense of chaos
may lead us to a space of feeling unprotected, making it
difficult to bring focus back to what your heart truly desires.
To help release fear and anxiety, practice the Mangala
Charan Mantra (aka Aad Guray Nameh Mantra). This mantra
helps clear uncertainty, opening yourself to guidance and
protection for endless opportunity and boundless prosperity.
This clarity will allow you to refocus and achieve your heart’s
deepest and most profound desires. Allow yourself to be
guided. Ideally, this chant is done for thirty one minutes in
your own sacred space. Begin with three minutes, moving to
eleven, then increase to twenty two minutes. Over time, you
will gradually work your way up to thirty one minutes.

This salad is a crowd pleaser with a dressing you’ll love.
Not only is the dressing wonderful in this salad, it is also
fantastic on burgers, sandwiches, wraps or tacos. The
dressing is thick. If thinner consistency is desired, add 1
tbsp of water at a time and taste. Leave it thick for burgers and sandwiches. For the kale, a strong curly variety
is best and there’s no need to massage it. The dressing
will soften the kale a bit on its own but still maintain a
nice firm texture.

Add all the ingredients to a high speed blender and
process until smooth and creamy. Add more sea salt if
needed.

SALAD
Curly kale
Green leaf
Fresh mint
Dried cranberry, rehydrated or not
Toasted pumpkin seeds
Avocado
Chop the kale and green leaf and add to large bowl along
with the chopped mint. Add the dressing and mix well.
Season with black pepper and sea salt if needed. Serve in
bowls and top with toasted pumpkin seeds, the cranberry
and a side of avocado.

QUINOA
1 cup dry white quinoa
1½ cups water
Sea salt
Rinse the quinoa very well. Add to a medium pot, water and large pinch
of sea salt. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer covered
for 16 minutes. Check that there is no more water. Remove from heat,
and lightly fluff with fork. Keep covered off the heat for another 10 minutes, and the quinoa will fluff even more. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS WHEN PLATING
Fresh dill
Fresh mint
Fresh basil
Fresh parsley
Toasted walnuts
Cracked red pepper
Plating: Add quinoa to a bowl, along with the roasted vegetables. Drizzle
with the cashew cream and top with all the fresh herbs, walnuts, and
pinch of red pepper flakes or fresh cracked black pepper and more sea
salt if needed.

75

art / Profile

YOGA +
CREATIVE LIVING
WORDS AND ART BY:
SUSANNA HARWOOD RUBIN

The Yoga of Living a Creative Life
By Susanna Harwood Rubin

a handful of visiting scholars and artists on
the stone floor of my studio before we ate
breakfast and got to work. I had created my
first unpaid teaching gig. My artwork flowed.
My yoga flowed. My writing flowed.
When I returned to New York, I realized that I
had to begin addressing the greater question
of who I was as a creative being and what I
wished to create in the world. My art friends
were perplexed. Why was I devoting as much
time to yoga as I was to my artwork? At the
Museum of Modern Art, where I lectured
and worked, they didn’t seem to want to talk
with me about it. Yoga wasn’t serious. It was
something that existed at the gym or in one
of a handful of yoga studios, which, at the
time, were fairly alternative places. To the
yoga world’s chanting, essential oils, and
shades of vegetarianism, the art world meant

“I realized that I had
to begin addressing
the greater question
of who I was as a
creative being and
what I wished to
create in the world.”

M

y yoga life took over my artist life around spring 2002.
It was a few months after
9/11, events I watched live
from Washington Square
Park. I moved numbly through the ensuing
atmosphere of smoke, stench, and sorrow
that engulfed my neighborhood in the weeks
that followed, then dove into my yoga practice, choosing community and the affirmation
of movement over solitary hours drawing in
my studio. I enrolled in a teacher training
because yoga seemed to be the only thing

76

late-night dive bars in Williamsburg, cigarettes, and cutting edge conceptual inquiry.
Despite the art world’s liberal demeanor, they
just couldn’t get with my yoga thing. It wasn’t
cool yet. I had changed — the art world hadn’t.
that made sense to me. My breath. My body.
I was alive.
I had no desire to become a yoga teacher, but
took the teacher training because it seemed
to be the one way of immersing myself in
yoga. I had no intention of leaving New York,
where my entire life revolved around the
art world. I emerged from teacher training
transformed and perplexed. I immediately
took off for an Artist Residency at the American Academy in Rome, where, in addition to
drawing and working on installations, I taught

So I led a divided life. I had my yoga friends,
and I had my art world friends. I had my
drawings and installations acquired by major
collectors and museums. I co-wrote a book
on Matisse and Picasso for MoMA. I lectured
passionately on Andy Warhol’s Gold Marilyn.
I went to kirtan with Krishna Das. I studied
yoga philosophy with Tantric Scholar Dr.
Douglas Brooks. I hid my yoga website deep
within my art website because the yogis
thought the art thing was cool but the yoga
undermined my credibility with the art people.
I had self-identified as an artist my entire life,

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

so this divide was fairly angst-ridden. Who
was I if not an artist? Every time I had to fill
out a form asking me my profession, I still
wrote artist, but had a little twinge of doubt. I
had no idea if and when I would be able to resolve this inner rift. Then two things reframed
the situation: the first was writing, the second
was India.
Along with my lifelong identification as a visual artist, I also identified as a writer. Writing
was easy for me-like a game of shifting and
moving words to create textures and tones,
thoughts and stories. More than anything,
I loved essays; James
Baldwin, Paul Auster,
and MFK Fisher were
my gods. So writing on
art came naturally. And
then, upon the request
of a friend with a blog,
writing on yoga came
naturally. I began to feel
as passionately about
writing as I did about
drawing and yoga, so my
creative time was now
split into three parts.
For some reason, this
excited rather than
dismayed me. It showed
me that my creativity
could not be contained
by one rigid form, that
my attempts to define it
through words, terms,
and titles was misguided. There was no longer
an either/or. Instead,
there was a creative
triad. I realized that
my creativity would be
whatever it needed to
be and would take whatever form it needed
to take. I would reject being pigeonholed and
allow each of my ideas to take the medium it
required. I was slowly beginning to care less
about what people thought and more about
what felt meaningful to my creativity.
Around 2008, I finally went to India. In the
Tamil temples I was visiting, the aesthetic of
color, design, and artistry was jaw-dropping.
Daily life was filled with visual richness, from

NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

kolams - the elaborate designs drawn in
rice flour on the thresholds of homes, to the
abundant flower malas draped around deities, and the moving rainbow of fabrics worn
by men and women. Every surface seemed
to be an opportunity for artistry to flourish.
Here I found what I didn’t realize I had been
looking for: a blending of the aesthetic with
the spiritual in everyday life.
I returned to New York with the recognition
that my artwork did not have to be separate
from my yoga life. In fact, my spiritual life
could actually drive my work. This was not a

“We cannot help
but be creative
because we create
with our every gesture
and utterance.”

new concept, but it was one that felt personally revolutionary. My drawings were infused
with a new sense of color, pattern, design,
and purpose. I could barely move my fingers
rapidly enough to capture the writing that
was streaming out of me. My yoga life had
become the great collaborator of my creative
life. One discipline did not have to be in the
lead; this divide was an artificial one, and had
become irrelevant. For the first time since I
was a child, my creative life felt free.
Artistry can be present within our simplest
daily acts: making food, arranging our homes,
tending to our bodies.
Creativity is present in
every decision we make
in our everyday lives.
Every individual human
being is profoundly
creative. How do you
choose to dress? How do
you use language? How
do you move? What are
your chosen routines and
rituals? In every moment
of our lives, we make
aesthetic decisions, we
perform creative acts.
We cannot help but be
creative because we
create with our every
gesture and utterance.
Yoga helped me to
delight in small acts of
creativity and to create
without limits. As yogis
and as artists, each of
us is engaged in daily
creative inquiry. The
rules and boundaries we
choose shape us, so be
mindful of self-imposed
limits, and wary of external judgements. Allow
flow. Our yoga is our own. Our artistry is our
own. No one else sees, thinks, or expresses
themselves in the same way. So we must not
hesitate to claim our creative selves and to
express ourselves in whatever aesthetic form
we desire.

Learn more about Susanna:
www.susannaharwoodrubin.com

77

Health / Ayurveda

78

YOGALIFEMAGAZINES.COM

CREATIVITY
OFF THE MAT
PHOTOS AND ARTICLE BY: RENEE CHOI

Ask any myriad of full-time yoga teachers shuttling around the city everyday, and they will most likely
agree #thestruggleisreal. From completing teacher training, to subbing, to getting their own class (finally!),
working as a yoga instructor is not generally the easiest or quickest route to making your first million
dollars. So what’s a yogi-freelancer to do? For some, yoga has served as an impetus for creating another
business venture, blending yogic teaching in with other platforms. For others, yoga furthers artistic
expression that had existed before, channeling creativity in a new way.

MOON DECK
Aarona Ganesen and Andrea (Andi) Keh were both artists and yoga teachers
before creating their first joint enterprise: the Moon Deck, a set of daily intention
cards designed to engage intuition with reflection and ritual. Both have found
themselves, students and fellow teachers responsive to imagery in yoga exploration. Aarona often handed out cards with words of intention to her students before
class and found students responsive to the cards, a single word with the ability
to deepen their own practice. Their Moon Deck creation serves as an expressive
outlet for them both, a natural extension of existing passions.

Ohm K
In the same way, Katharine Lucić and Katie Vohwinkel co-founded Ohm K, a yogainspired clothing line followed the same path of yoga/fitness teaching and the desire to create. Both actors turned fitness instructors were ready to do something
additionally out of the box. When Katie approached Katherine to create some tank
tops with yoga puns, Katharine expanded the idea to turn the line into a business.
Their joint brand provides another outlet for creativity, while their continued yoga
practice allows for deepening of openness, receptivity and positivity. As Katharine
noted, after a day of struggling with a full-time job and a small business, the meditation of practice opens her up to “possibilities and a much more creative space.”
Ohm K also gives back a portion of proceeds to select non-profits, believing in
giving back towards journeys of wellness.
As B.K.S. Iyengar is often quoted: “Yoga does not just change the way we see
things, it transforms the person who sees.” Whether yoga enhances existing creativity or brings new perspectives, there is no doubt that the practice transforms.
With enough hustle, luck and perseverance, a whole new journey into creative
vision opens. So maybe, #thehustleisreal.

haron Salzberg can be credited for bringing meditation and mindfulness practices to the West
decades ago. The world-renowned teacher and NY Times bestselling author most recently
penned Real Happiness At Work. Co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, Sharon is accessible in her humor and renowned for her down-to-earth approach to
Buddhist teachings. You may find her guiding busy New Yorkers at the Rubin Museum or through The Path
and MNDFL. She is a regular columnist for On Being, a contributor to Huffington Post, and the host of her
own podcast: “The Metta Hour.”

“I’m inspired by my teacher Dipa Ma, who is the person who told me to teach meditation. It was 1974, and
I was in Calcutta to say goodbye to her and get her blessing for what I thought would be a very short trip
back to the US. She told me I’d start teaching when back here. When I protested, she told me two lifechanging things: First she said, ‘You really understand suffering, that’s why you should teach.’ Then she
said, ‘You can do anything you want to do. It is only your thinking that you can’t do it that’s going to stop
you.’ Those words have stayed with me for decades.”
“I’m inspired by NYC. There’s such incredible resiliency here, and generosity. Despite the reputation of
New Yorkers as being kind of perpetually grumpy, I feel I’ve experienced tremendous kindness here. And
of course I was here after 9/11, where I witnessed countless acts of goodness and caring. After the bomb
went off near Chelsea/Flatiron last fall, I saw people reaching out to others — ‘Are you ok? Are you anxious?
Can I help?’.”
“I’m inspired by a mala (rosary) that someone made me. It has the classical 108 beads, and I wear it
looped around my wrist. It is a very simple thing, but a profound reminder. Sometimes I notice the feeling of it on my wrist, my glance will fall upon it, and then I remember to take a few moments right then to
practice: to breathe, or offer some lovingkindness, or silently repeat a mantra. So it becomes my entryway
to balance many times throughout my day.”
For more information, visit www.SharonSalzberg.com

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Yoga / Profiles

Kiran Gandhi (continued from pg 45)

What’s your yoga/meditation practice?
7 a.m. yoga - that’s my jam. I don’t have a
“job” that I have to wake up and go to, so
creating this has been an anchoring point
for me. It keeps me from drinking the night
before. It makes me go to bed early. It makes
me start my day at 8:30. I feel like my limbs
are stretched out. I feel like my physical well
being supports my mental well being. There’s
oxygen getting to every fiber in my muscles.
The meditation I do doesn’t happen by sitting
still in silence. It happens at two specific
times. It happens when I’m driving. I get the
chance to zone in on what I really want. I’ll
take notes and send myself reminders from
that time. Another time is when I’m drumming. As a musician, you get to a point to
where your craft becomes muscle memory.
I’m no longer addressing the learning at the
front of my brain—it’s already happening. I
let my limbs do whatever, and my brain goes
off into a thought process. I recognize that
most schools of thought for meditation are
about clearing your mind completely. The way
I think about it is clearing external stimulation completely — so that I can hear myself.
Maybe I still have work to do when I access
one level beyond that, which is complete
blankness of the mind, which is a very Indian
school of thought.
A lot of people do find peace through
stillness. It sounds like you find meditation in movement. The beauty of
meditation is that there’s no right or
wrong way to do it. Some people can
sit quietly for 20 minutes and feel
recharged. For you, maybe you get that
from drumming.
Yea, totally.

Spanish Yoga (continued from pg 67)
name of the pose followed by the Sanskrit
name.
NYYLM: Tell us about the students.
One of the amazing things about this training
has been that we have students from various
countries. Some were born here, others came

They will get weekly theme assignments and
classes to teach to help them think faster on
their feet. I change up the class assignment
for each class so they learn how to think outside the box with their sequences. When we
return to part two they have worked out some
kinks and feel confident.
NYYLM: What do you want your trainees to
walk away with?
I want my students to ignite the questioner,
the ability to think for themselves and develop critical thinking by observing a situation
first and then consider solutions. I don’t want
them to be “mini me’s” - just spitting yoga
words out. They develop their foundation first
and then they can flourish on their own, like
a dancer is advised to learn ballet first and
then adventure into other forms of dance.
NYYLM: So they need to learn the rules
before they can break them?
Yes! This will mean they thoroughly learned
the information. In addition, they will then be
able to integrate this into their daily lives.

here years ago, but we all call the United
States our home now. No matter the different
walks of life, we all had one goal: to learn and
share the beauty of yoga with fellow Hispanics in the U.S and around the world!
NYYLM: Kriplau has two formats for teacher
training programs. Which one did you
choose and why?
I chose the two week twelve day format, with
mentorship time between training dates,
totaling four months. It takes time to create
a teacher. I like to have my students apply
what they have learned in class to their lives.

NYYLM: This is all very exciting, and we
are looking forward to watching the ripple
effect as it multiplies benefiting more
communities.
I am itching with excitement! People want to
be part of something bigger. This is the first
Spanish teacher training in the freaking
United States! It’s a movement. We have
planted the seed and soon I’m will be teaching the next training in Wanderlust Hollywood,
California!

Learn more about Rina: www.rinayoga.com

Learn more about Kiran Gandhi
and Atomic Living: www.kirangandhi.com
IG and Twitter @madamegandhi

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NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM

83

PHOTOGRAPH: PAUL UNDERSINGER

CREATING A NEW KIND OF YOGA FESTIVAL
“We envision a world where the power of yoga is made available to all, regardless of age, race,
gender, and class. Yoga can help provide the tools and momentum for positive change in individual participants, and the communities they create.”
-SoulFest NYC Team

SoulFest is NYC’s first day-long yoga and wellness festival created by the community for the
community. Join us as we gather 2,000 yogis at the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building
Plaza in the heart of Harlem, NYC for a full day of classes, workshops and community building.

WHAT: SoulFest NYC

Created by Lara Land, and co-created by Iana Velez, Editor in Chief of NY YOGA + LIFE
magazine and the NY YOGA + LIFE team, this event was created to celebrate the diversity in
the yoga and wellness community, and to help make yoga and wellness accessible to all.

WHEN: May 20, 2017

Join us on May 20th 2017, as we kick off our celebration with Faith Hunter leading her signature Spiritually Fly™ class and Lauren Imparato teaching the first Spanish Yoga class at a
NYC yoga festival. Additional presenters include Erica Garcia, Judi Checo from Bread & Yoga,
Benswic personal training, the I Love Kickboxing Team, Ahemd the Yogiman, Lara Land and
many more.

WHERE: Adam Clayton Powell State
Office Building Plaza, NYC
WHY: To help make yoga and wellness
accessible to everyone.
HOW MUCH: General admission is
FREE, VIP ticket options available.
GET INVOLVED: for more information
and to register for tickets: www.
soulfestnyc.com

NY YOGA + LIFE always works hard
all year, but we always have a good
time. Here are some behind the scenes
shots from issue #3!

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